XCOM: Abyssal
by Hobbes
Summary: XCom: Abyssal is based on the game XCom: Terror From the Deep. Major rewriting in progress, should release some new chapters soon April 2009
1. Prologue

DISCLAIMER: "X-COM" and all aspects of the trademark, together with the computers games "X-COM: UFO Defense" and "X-COM: Terror From The Deep" are copyrighted material of Infogames/Firaxis. This story is fan fiction and can be reproduced as long as the author's rights are respected. Please do not make any unauthorized chances into the text or take the author's name out of it. Any comments and enquiries are more than welcome through the following email: aadlg@rocketmail.com

"X-Com – Abyssal" is the sequel to the author's "X-Com – The Unknown Menace" and is set upon the events of the computer game: "X-Com – Terror From The Deep".

Prologue

"_On the significance of the Alien War_

_For later historians the beginning of the twenty-first century will probably be marked as the period where humankind stepped into a new era. _

_Although we know that the Aliens first arrived at Earth at the dawn of human civilization and had always kept a keen interest on the planet since then, it was until the end of the twenty-century that their existence was generally recognized. _

_Until then we had either clung to a religious creed that humans were the only sentient beings in the entire universe or to the scientific "fact" that extraterrestrial civilizations, if they existed, were too far away for contact to be established. _

_Those misguided conceptions of man's position in the universe were to become shattered as the aliens started to increase their hostile activities on the Solar System at the beginning of the new millennium. The real truth started to be noticed by those who had eyes to look up to the skies. _

_Although their presence had been announced a couple of years before, it wasn't until 2002 that general information started to be released about the aliens. Unknowingly for the majority of the world's population, a war had been fought with the aliens for the past three years. To that purpose the major countries in the world had formed a special combat force called Extraterrestrial Command to research and fight the aliens. _

_Their decision to establish a worldwide effort was proven correct as X-Com, as the force became known, was successful in stopping the aliens before they took over the planet.  But in the midst of the victory celebrations that followed, only a few persons, and especially the X-Com's scientists, could be aware of the impact the war would have over human civilization. _

_Their discoveries posed challenges to organized religions and scientific theories alike. Strong evidence now pointed towards the fact the Homo species would remain   irrational primates if the aliens hadn't interfered with man's ancestors. And the aliens looked at the planet as something that they were about to reclaim for their own purposes, namely for food and breeding. In short, we were not God's chosen species or the result of millions of years of evolution anymore. _

_But, in the aftermath of human victory we became filled with pride and hope and chose not to think on how "alien" we truly are. Such questions were better left unanswered since the answers were to daunting to face. _

_Instead, we turned to unrealistic dreams as the retrieved alien technology revived the dreams of interstellar travel and colonization. And the short unity felt between all humans right after the war lead to a confidence that we would be able to resolve all of the world's problems. Ironically, those were the same hopes placed by a part of the population upon the aliens before their true intentions were known. _

_But what we chose to forget quickly caught up with us again. Our old divisions re-emerged, as the result of old greeds and wars. _

_The promised advances in space travel had to be buried as the Elerium fuel necessary to power such craft was found not to be natural to the Solar System. And the existing stockpiles recovered from crashed UFOs soon dwindled as it was used in conflicts to power the weapons retrieved from the aliens. Until finally there wasn't any Elerium left on Earth for either research or wars. The quickly growing population soon led us into more problems. Crime rates increased and worldwide pollution caused climate changes, making the still intact natural resources to be the center of fierce disputes._

_There are two events that mark this dark period. First, the final disbandment of X-Com, whose remaining assets were sold as the world economic crisis aggravated. Second, the Antarctic wars that were fought between several nations to ensure their claims to what had been the last unexplored continent on Earth. _

_For me, as the final commander of X-Com I see them as the most symbolic events that took place after the war. While I truly wish that the aliens never return to our system again, X-Com represented what we can do if we try to work together and understand our fellow man. And in Antarctica we soiled the last place on Earth that was free of greed and hate. I hope that one day our children are able to understand us and forgive us for both shameful actions. _

_There are those that claim that the world's present state of affairs was caused by the alien influence upon Earth. They claim that the aliens are dead since no further contacts have been reported for more than three decades. Humankind is now alone again and that it's necessary to erase all traces of the aliens in order for us to become pure again. _

_Others defend that we need the aliens, or at least that we need the Elerium in order to overcome our species' problems. In the case of the newly born Cult of Sirius their leaders even claim that the aliens are nothing more than gods and that we have fallen from heaven because we rejected them. The need for purity is probably the only aspect were both philosophies can agree. Neither the aliens nor we are gods that can act without impunity._

However, the question can hardly be taken upon such simple terms. The alien's legacy will always be present upon us, hidden into the depths of our souls. By its own existence it helps us to define what is to be human. And the war's truly significance was that, even now, we are able to choose in freedom which path we must tread on the future." 

- Boronin, Gennadi, _Speeches and Essays_, 2033, Moscow

October 4th, 2040

Atlantic Ocean

The red and black submarine was slowly moving over the sandy bottom of the North Atlantic Mid-Ocean Cannon, located between Newfoundland and Greenland. The body of the 44 meters long vessel had been painted in black, but the waters around it seemed even darker since it was at a depth of nearly four kilometers, where no sunlight would ever come down. The red turret of the substance contrasted more with the actual temperature, placing the waters near the craft at below zero figures. 

Although the bright color of the sub was quite flashy at the distance when at surface, a careful examination showed that its hull was already showing signs of the toll collected by the sea on its decades of existence. Its official designation was the SORESO Zero-One, but the base personal called it the _Khimtar_. 

SORESO was the acronym for Sub-Oceanic Reconnaissance and Extraterrestrial Salvage Operation, a corporate enterprise set after the disbandment of X-Com to investigate UFO crash sites underwater with the purpose of retrieving the Elerium fuel they used on its propulsion. The element had been essential in the last war to power plasma weapons and interplanetary craft. However, it didn't exist on Earth and all of the supplies taken from the aliens had been used, making it an extremely rare substance. 

And the seven men and women inside the _Khimtar _were eagerly waiting for their arrival to one of the marked UFO crash sites underwater because of the possibility of a hefty bonus. 

First Pilot Silva was just betting on the possibility that the might find an intact Elerium engine as he kept his hand to the stick that controlled the small sub and watched the outside. About a week ago a commercial vessel had by chance passed over the crash site and had detected a strong magnetic disturbance close to crash site 137. 

Although the UFO had been marked as if it had exploded right before hitting the surface of the water and never had been fully investigated now. However, now there seemed to be that it the Elerium from the alien' craft engine was still active and had hadn't been consumed by the blast. Which would only mean an operation possible more lucrative than the investigation they had been done for most of the year. 

But the crash area extended over nearly hundreds of square kilometers of the ocean floor, due to the dispersion of the debris. And moving at a low four knots velocity the search would certainly take some time. The world navies had subs that could move faster at those depths but in this case they needed the time to analyze the various signals that arrived from the ocean. 

Although the Khimtar had external lights that allowed the pilot to see the area outside of the craft their penetration into the darkness was limited to less than ten meters. But they were off since Silva was using infrared light to see the bottom of the ocean in a blue image. In front of him a blue rectangle floated on the air, with the darker blue representing the ocean floor and the lighter the space in front of him. The image was also linked to data from the ship's acoustic sensors. Sound moves very fast through water and it bounces off like radar waves as it hits obstacles that are inside the ocean. The _Khimtar_' active sonar was constantly pinging the background and detecting the ocean floor's topography and any other objects that might be laying at the bottom of the ocean. 

"I'm picking the wreck of the _Titanic_ again". The voice came from his right where his sensor operator and co-pilot, Second Pilot Timms was seated. The officer was constantly scanning the bottom of the ocean through acoustic and magnetic sensors to detect signs of the UFO's wreckage. When a metal boat is in contact with the salty waters it turns itself into a huge magnet provoking an anomaly in the Earth's magnetic field that can be detected at close ranges. As they looked for the alien alloys of the hull of the wreck they had detected the remains of the sunken passenger liner that had sunk in 1911. Over the past days they had gotten used to the presence of the sunken ships and had stopped to pay any attention to it. And now this was their last day of the mission and would have to head back to SORESO in six hours bringing a climax to the rest of the search. Below the bridge of the sub, which was mounted on the sail the other five sailors that composed the crew were also waiting. Two were qualified divers and stood ready to deploy outside in their heavy suits, designed to withstand the pressure of the water around the _Khimtar_. The other three were the ship's mechanic and two assistants. 

"Hey Timms, focus instead on the engine that's here someplace". The data from the commercial cargo ship about the location of the anomaly was partial since the ship was passing through a major storm on the surface that seemed to affect the guidance systems. 

The other officer's voice was tired. "I've told you that there's nothing here for the past two days. We haven't picked any single trace of remains from the UFO". 

Turning his complete body towards the other officer he made a hard face but his voice's tone was sarcastic. "I'll make it an order then!" Timms shrugged his shoulders in defeat and turned towards the above display of the ocean around them. "That's strange. I'm picking a noise signal from the _Titanic_".

"So what? Maybe something is loose inside the hull. We're pretty close to Artic current". Since noise was so easily transported over water, a submarine or a ship can be easily detected as they move on the surface or below.

The next comment from Timms was excited. "I got a possible contact!" After a second on which Silva look at him in anger he started giving away the data. "Bearing 137 degrees, speed six knots and increasing, distance twelve nautical miles". 

Now that claim was something impossible Silva realized as the words reached him. There were no other submarines known to be routinely operating in the area. However, this could be another survey ship. As he checked his display he saw that Timms was correct but it didn't hardly matter. "Probably it's the anniversary of the sinking of the ship or something. Let's carry on". 

"The regulations tell us to report this to base". Under his breath Silva wished that the other pilot hadn't brought it up. A lot of strange events had been reported lately coming from all sources around the world. Ships and submarines had detected strange craft on their sonar devices. And some of them had disappeared under mysterious circumstances. The formation of strange storms over the seas and natural magnetic disturbances had been also reported. 

Until now Silva and his crew had been engaged into investigating of dozens of locations where ships and airplanes had disappeared without a trace. But they never had been able to detect anything since they only arrived several hours later to the area. "It's pointless. We'll report it when we get back". At that depth they could only communicate with the base through the use of an emergency low-frequency radio. It had been installed just months ago in case the craft ever detected any 'Unidentified Submersible Object' or USO as the orders put it. So far it had never been used. 

"It's too close to the _Titanic anyway! We have picked false echoes before!" _

"It has been keeping its position. It looks as if it's trailing us!" When Silva checked on the coordinates his heart stopped cold. He had dismissed the claims made in the rumors that went around SORESO base. He had been hired to recover as much Elerium as he could because in the present days there weren't much well paid jobs. He knew the story of X-Com and how SORESO was all that remained from the combat force that had won the Alien War for Earth. 

But until know he had never imagined that he would one day encounter any alien. The next tense report from Timms shattered that idea. "Holy God! The craft is heading towards us! Bearing still 137, speed… two hundred knots per hour???" Silva knew that it was impossible for any operational submarine to reach that speed. He made a mental calculation as the co-pilot spoke the distance. One knot was one nautical mile per hour. At the unknown craft's speed it was going to reach the position of the _Khimtar in a matter of minutes. _

Activating a control on the screen in front of him with his right index finger he spoke into the ship's intercom. "All hands, we have an emergency status!" He didn't knew what else to do. The sub was at its maximum speed and he could try to get to surface but the USO would catch with him anyways. "Silva get that message going! Now!" Timms voice had more panic but he didn't check to see what it was. Activating the low frequency radio, he gave the message an emergency status and started typing it. The low frequency had been used since the previous century to transmit instructions to submarines deeply submerged. However, for a number of technical reasons it couldn't transmit long messages. 

"The thing had started to make strange acoustic noises! I think I'm picking a transistent!" The term meant that the submerged craft had made a noise that automatically classified it as artificial, such as propeller blades moving or torpedo tubes being opened. Silva quickly wrote the message, paying no attention to the formal ways to presenting a report. "I THINK THEY ARE BACK!" As he finished it, he saw that below the SORESO icon, a pentagonal symbol had appeared with the legend "War Room – Pentagon". He choose it instead and pressed the transmit button. 

The computer accepted his request with a notice saying that the transmission had been sent. But as he was about to repeat the procedure to SORESO a strange vibrating sound started to be heard over the hull of the submarine. Both officers looked at the direction of the noise but suddenly the whole of the bridge burst with water as the _Khimtar_' hull suddenly collapsed inwards, killing the whole crew. 

A couple of minutes later of the submarine's demise and more than a thousand miles away, inside a room on the Pentagon building in Washington, a red light started to burn in red. 

March 21st, 2044

Norfolk, Virginia, US

"Good morning Lieutenant". The voices made Markovitch stumble out of the mental stupor were she was immersed. Her whole body was feeling numb, as if all of the blood circulation had been cut off and stitches of pain traveled through her limbs as if something was poking her body with a sharp object. Opening her lips to answer, she found that her tongue seemed to be sticking to the bottom of her mouth. Moving it against the top it felt as if she had been licking raw stone. A crooked sound came from her lips and only afterwards did she realized that it was her own voice: "…. water". 

She felt a straw being placed upon her lips and she gathered all of the strength she had to suck on it. Warm water started to flow to her mouth but when she tried to swallow it, she immediately went through a burst of coughing. Another different voice, this time showing concern came to her ears: "Go easy Lieutenant!"

She gave it another try and found that she could drink it but only in very small sips. It took her a long time before she heard the slurring noise telling her that the cup was empty. Feeling better she opened her eyes and discovered that she was blinded. She raised her hands to them but her motion was stopped by a grasp of human hands. "You'll have to keep the bandages on your eyes for a couple of days. It has been a long time since you have used your retinas and they need to get used to the light". 

The reference to time started her mind to think about where she was. She found out that the last memory she had was of being inside the chamber that housed the alien Brain on Cydonia. She also remembered the mental battle against the alien that controlled the whole invasion. It had ended with it taking control over her and as for seconds had driven her into a frenzy of insanity and despair. Then she remembered nothing else.

But the human voices told her that she was back; probably back to Area 51, although they didn't sound familiar. We must have had won the war, otherwise she would be dead by now. _Erwin must have killed the Brain…where is he?_

"Erwin?" She wondered if he was standing by her bed and she hadn't noticed it. The first voice spoke in a confused tone: "Who?" Another voice replied. "She's talking about Colonel Johnson, the officer who was with her when the alien Brain disabled her on Mars". 

A sense of urgency came through her as she heard the last words. "Where is he?" She asked. Silence only replied to her and a sense of dread started to creep. 

"Where's Colonel Johnson? Is he alright?" She turned her head in the direction of the two voices, feeling that something was just not right. "I told you gentlemen that you shouldn't be here present when she first awoke from the cryogenic sleep!". 

"Doctor, we understand your concerns but the Council has required that we should witness the result to see if the operation has been a success and report back to them personally. A lot is at stake here".

"And that includes her emotional balance". The physician's voice seemed outraged. "We are having trouble already into bringing her metabolic rate to a normal level that this won't help". 

Markovitch listened to the exchange before she started to feel it was enough: "What is going on here", she tried to put as much stress to her voice as possible. "Where is Colonel Johnson and what are you talking about?!"

"Jesus!" The doctor's worried exclamation was her only reply. "Her pulse and alpha waves are starting to go over the limit again. This conversation has to end now. I'm going to have to sedate her". 

The officer stopped the physician by grabbing his arm. "Before you do that, it's better if she knows what has happened. She will have to deal with it eventually". 

She felt the voice coming closer. "Lieutenant Markovitch, to be brief, you're back on Earth. You have sustained massive injuries to your brain during the Cydonia assault and since they didn't had the technology to repair it, X-Com decided to place you in cryogenic sleep until we could heal you". As she heard him, things started to make some sense to her but she pressed for more. "And Johnson?"

"There's no other way to tell you this, Lieutenant so I'll just say it. Colonel Johnson died on Mars. He was hit by several plasma shots after killing the alien Brain. I'm sorry".

She felt like crying but no tears came out from her eyes that seemed too dry. _He's dead? It would have been better if they had just let her die also, she told herself. All of the physical pain that she was suffering turned into nothing as a new hurt filled her inside. _

"That's it! I'm going to sedate her now. She has taken too much". The words of the doctor came to her as a relief and she felt that she would never wake up. Slowly a chemical started to work its way inside her bloodstream and she felt blessed as her conscience was slowly taken away. However, one last thought came to her mind, a consolation for the sacrifice he had made. "We won the war, didn't we?"

The voice replied. "Yes. We won the first war". She felt something hidden inside those words. It hit her right next as the narcotic was disconnecting her higher brain functions and perception she went to a sleep. _The first? Before her mind could grasp the implications, she dozed off into a state of unconsciousness._

Two of the three men who were standing besides her hospital bed excused themselves from the doctor who was attending to her and left. They where wearing dark blue jumpsuits made of one piece of clothing that had zippers built into the left side to allow the person to get inside the suit. One of them was red-haired, with a military cut that enhanced his receding temples. The other had a darker skin tone and a deep black hair that was starting to turn white. On their left breasts they carried a patch consisting of a black circle rimmed in gold and it the middle it had a capital X letter, also designed in gold.

The red-haired missed a step on their way towards the doors of the infirmary and after catching his pace he commented. "I hate being in land". The other man smiled back at him. "Get used to it Lieutenant. Until the reanimation process is concluded our orders are to stay at this facility to be ready to present the results to the Council…." He trailed off the last sentence. 

The other man thought for a second. "Do you really think Commodore Paris will succeed in his attempt?" The darker man took a serious pose, making the lines on his forehead bigger and more accentuated. "I hope so. The failure to prevent the activation of the fifth device has got to open the Council's eyes. The old hag has to go: she was never prepared to deal with this war. Things have to take a change".

They had reached the doors of the elevators that would take then away for the hospital. "I know". The red-haired assented. "But I really wonder if it is necessary to reactivate her. Looking at her, I doubt that she will ever be in condition to help us out, Commander". He selected one button from a small panel and pressed it. The other officer turned to him in disbelief.  "Braddock, haven't you read her file?"

"Hey, I was getting off my plastics when your orders came through to report here. And during the Triton flight to here I only had time to flip through it since we caught a nasty magnetic storm near the Bermudas. What's so special about her?"

"She was assigned to old Area 51". Braddock let go of a small laugh. "You mean X-Com's Theme Park in Nevada? My parents took me there once when I was a kid".

The other officer's eyes told him that he wasn't finding the reference amusing. "Yeah, that one. But forty years ago it was one of X-Com's top installations and she was in command of one of their top platoons there. They made it through the whole war, including the assaults on the alien bases at New Mexico and Antarctica, besides Cydonia".

Braddock didn't look much impressed. "Things were different back there. They had all those nice plasma toys to play around and they never had to get their feet wet. And from the looks of her she'll never get off a wheel chair".

"The doctors say otherwise. Her condition is bad but that was to be expected after spending forty years frozen up. We will need to train her".

"Great!" Braddock sneered. "Don't tell me you made me come here to be a maid". 

The other man ignored his comment. "For the moment you are to keep a watch on her as long as she stays here. Keep me informed about her condition the whole time. And when I tell you get her ready to take a short trip".

"Sir….". The other officer raised his right index figure. "Braddock, keep your mouth shut. And I mean keep it really shut, unless you want to find yourself assigned to 'hazardous' duty really quick instead of being here at the beach". The blonde officer jerked back. "I get the picture don't worry". This voice showed fear.

The elevator doors opened and the other officer gave him a nasty look before they entered it. "I don't get one thing", Braddock started after he had chosen the level. "Why was she asking so much about this Johnson?"

The other officer unlocked his thumbs from his belt and shook his head. "Isn't it obvious? Jesus! With morons like yourself as Lieutenants here it's no doubt that things are going as bad as they are". The metal elevator doors closed without making a sound. 

When they reached their level, the older officer dismissed Braddock and proceeded to his own office at the naval facilities. When he entered the room, he took out his personal communications device and activated it with a touch on the digital screen. 

The air above mobile phone suddenly started to shimmer and a small rectangle appeared at the level of his eyes.  His finger flipped through the visor and dialed a phone number in a virtual keypad displayed on the screen. The logo of the phone company was replaced by an indication that the call was being dialed. 

After one second, the screen resolved itself into the face of a man who seemed to be on his forties. His face didn't show any trace of age yet and his hair was still a brightly blond. "Lieutenant Commander". After a pause he asked. "How did it go?"

"She's awake sir, but I a pitiful state. According to the doctors she has a fifty-fifty chance of surviving and fully recovering from the cryo awakening". 

The voice on the communicator seemed disappointed. "Fifty-fifty? That doesn't sound too promising. Don't tell me that you've sent her to one of the lowest medical centers so that you could pocket yourself some more neodollars from the funds available for the operation". 

The commander made an expression of wounded innocence but he followed it by a crooked smile. "No thank you sir. I know better than not to step on your toes in something so big as this. The doctors taking care of her are the best that money can buy. The problem seems more to be that this is the first attempt of reawakening a person after so long. She has been frozen for forty years". 

"I know commander. I was the one who ordered it… as a reassurance for a future that the majority thought to be impossible. Oh well. But there's no point in complaining about the past now. What's your impression of her? "

"I hardly spoke to her sir. I've told her about what happened to Johnson and the end of the war. She sounded devastated by his death but at the same time the news from the killing of the Brain on Mars seemed to have relieved it a bit. But I thought it better not to mention the present situation".

"Do you think she will be ready for it?"

The officer thought for a second then replied. "If she survived this far then I'd guess that it might take some time but if she has the will she will be back on her feet".

"She will". The man on the visor spoke matter of fact. "She will only have to believe that she's still fighting for something. And we'll give her just what she needs. Forty years is a long time: she will be wanting to find her place in this world and getting back on X-Com will seem to her the best way, doing the same thing as the past".

Nodding his approval, the officer continued. "I'm going to place Braddock in charge of her and later he will train her. The man is a bit of a jerk but he's loyal to me. And when she has attained a sufficient combat proficiency I'll assign her to Fourth Fleet to see if she can adapt".

The man in the visor cocked an eyebrow at him. "Commander, if I recall correctly, the Fourth hasn't seen action in more than six months. That it, besides the regular engagements it has been having with the Argentinean Navy near the Falklands' base. I don't want her to sit idle". 

"Sir, I can't just assign her here to Norfolk. Too many questions would be asked. If she was assigned to the combat personnel roster she would have the right to command a company. That would overstep a lot of officers and the commodore would sure notice it".

"I wasn't thinking of Norfolk, Commander. What about Sixth Fleet?"

 "Madhouse?" The officer wondered if the man was talking seriously. "Sir, that fleet has the highest attrition rate on the force". 

"Precisely". Realization came to him after I second later. "I think I see what are you trying to prove, sir. 

"Things are different from the time when she was shooting Sectoids with laser rifles. And if she survives the Sixth then we will know if we have what we wanted. Also, assign her as an apprentice seaman recruit in a temporary status, Commander. Later we will explain to her that it will be her own combat qualification trial if she wants to regain her position at X-Com". 

"Very well. Sir, and what about the Council? The Commodore here is making a lot of questions about my leaves. If he reports what's going on back here the Council will sure order an investigation". 

"Leave those details to Commodore Paris and me, Commander. Just remember the whole propose of this operation: things here have to change a bit and she's a very important part of those plans. Worry about her and your other tasks". 

The officer nodded his approval. However, he didn't turn off the transmitter. "Sir, there's also something I noticed in her file". The blonde man waited for him to continue. 

Taking a deep breath, the officer simply spoke out afterwards. "In her old X-Com records there's a reference to her…" The word didn't come out easy to him. "Psionic levels. Was she one of the psis?"

The man's reply came flat. "Don't discuss the matter with anyone Commander. What you saw is correct but as far as we know she never experienced any of the mental disorders related to such individuals". 

The matter still caused the officer's stomach to stir. "Sir, but you know how I feel. Psionics is an obscenity, much like the aliens' molecular control…" A dreadful thought came to his mind as he remembered rumors of forbidden scientific experiment. "Don't tell me you have awaken her for…"

"Commander," Calm and determination came on the voice of the man. "I won't engage in that old argument now. I'll just tell you this: we need to understand the enemy. That was how the original X-Com defeated the invasion. Otherwise we are stabbing blindly into the darkness, occasionally inflicting a bruise but never really managing to do any damage. However you'll either have to trust me or leave. And I need to know now".

The officer closed his eyes as an inner struggle raged inside him. "Well?"

"Your brother has saved my life before and, no matter how I despise this I'll still trust you". The man smiled warmly. After they discussed other subjects, he finished the call and placed the communicator back into his belt.

André Galvão, 2002 


	2. Awakenings

X-Com: Abyssal

Chapter One - Awakenings

February 4th, 2044

South of the Azores Islands, Atlantic Ocean

The weather over the Atlantic was starting to get worse as a cold front moved above the sea heading towards the British Isles. The sky was already overcast in dark clouds and the winds' velocity was starting to increase, with large waves already starting to be felt on the surface. In short, the appearance of seascape was normal for the area and time of the year, except for the black column of smoke that rose from a small location on the ocean. Thin at the point were it started it quickly enlarged as the hot air ascended making it visible for any ship that might be passing by dozens of nautical miles away. For the pilot at the commands of the sleek shaped dark plane it was a blessing since it gave him a visual reference to direct the craft towards its destiny. 

Flying at five hundred knots, the plane swiftly covered the distance between it and the column of smoke. As he got nearer, the pilot started to spot the floating structure that was burning. Although it weighted more than ten thousand tons and a length of 120 meters, making it the size of a major warship, it was a floating base. At it had been drifting northeast at the whim of the Gulf Stream, the surface current that traveled from the Caribbean Sea to the Europe. 

The pilot could see that the base was sinking as it finally reached the gray and blue structure. It had a listing of five degrees with the modules on one side partly underwater. On the opposite side the bottom of the structure was hanging above the not so quiet sea, revealing the sea life that had attached itself to it. The column of smoke came from that area, rising from large holes on the flat rectangular surface of the base. Looking at it the pilot wondered what had happened as he announced to his passengers that he was about to land the plane. "We have arrived at SORESO. I'm going to land close on the water". 

On the cargo area, Lieutenant Commander Paul Delacroix started to zip his dry suit to prevent himself from getting wet. As soon as news from the alien strike at the old SORESO had reached Norfolk he had been worried. Now, as he looked at the civilian in front of him, he couldn't help wonder how bad things were, since the US councilman to X-Com had decided to personally go an examine the location. Unlike the dull blue of his drysuit, the blonde man was wearing a livid green more akin to the ones used for underwater recreational diving. He was also grabbing a set of diving glasses and a snorkel on his hands and had a set of duck feet standing next to him. And he was in a reflective mood, something that Delacroix had noticed that was getting more common on the last months. They both buckled up their safety belts without saying a word as the plane made its landing run.

Delacroix had been at Norfolk Naval Base when the distress call had arrived from the floating base, reporting that a very large USO had just been detected on the vicinity of SORESO. The Triton transport craft on alert had been immediately scrambled by Commodore Paris, the commander of the X-Com detachment at Norfolk, carrying a full combat squad. He had served there at the beginning of the conflict before being promoted and reassigned to Norfolk. But its origins extended a long way back: it was the only thing that had remained of old X-Com and it had been the initial focus for the operations against the new aliens nearly two years ago. The base had nearly three hundred people inside, composed of combat teams, scientists and support personnel. Now they were all gone. 

The destruction of old SORESO wasn't just something to be taken lightly. And both he and the man seated in front of him knew it. He was more than twenty years older than Delacroix but nearly shown no signs of his age except for the fact that his hair seemed to be getting lighter with the years and a few wrinkles were forming close to his eyes. While the tabloid press had labeled Frederick D. Williams as one billionaire more obsessed with trying to hide his old age and enjoying life, Delacroix knew otherwise about him. He had met Williams for more than a decade and knew that the man's well kept physique was more the result of his will to be prepared for everything and not wanting to show any signs that might be interpreted as a weakness. However, he also knew that vanity had its part.

Williams was the US representative to the Council of Funding Nations, the body that oversaw X-Com's activities and determined the force's budget. At the first reports of the attack he had immediately flown to Norfolk using its private jet and had demanded to personally see the results of the attack. And now it seemed that both of them were about to know if the truth was as painful had it had sounded when the first Triton had transmitted their first report. 

As the plane touched the surface of the water it skidded on the water like a flat rock before the pilot reversed the engines and made it stop after some hundred meters. It then started to move slowly over the surface towards the sinking base until it stopped close to an equal plane that was already standing by one side of the structure. Another floating plane could be seen behind it. 

Two seamen opened a large hatch on the starboard side of the plane as the motion ended. The salty air rushed inside, making the hairs on Delacroix's neck stand up. The enlisted men then pulled the rigid rubber boat that was standing close to the hatch into the water that was only a few centimeters below the bottom of the craft. One of them moved inside and got the engine ready as Delacroix and the councilman boarded it. After a couple of seconds they were up on their way to the raised portion of the base. 

There were signs of heavy fighting all over the hull, with darkened or broken spots showing the results of weapons fire. The boat moved closer to a section where a open hatch could be seen five meters above the water with a chain ladder hanging from it. 

Grabbing one step, Delacroix pulled it to be sure of its strength. He then started to climb, followed by the councilmen as he got close to the hatch. As he placed one hand on the bottom of a hatch a pair of troopers clad in dark blue moved to help him onboard. 

When he and the councilman finally got inside the small chamber the troopers saluted them. Both of them were wearing a dark blue diving suit with armor plating covering their arms, legs and torso. They also had long yellow weapons hanging from their shoulders. Delacroix returned the salute and immediately asked. "Ensign, where did the second Triton come from?"

"Sir, the Inspector General is here, together with the Admiral. They flew straight from Rotterdam". That made Delacroix to look at the other man, who displayed a touch of annoyance at the words. "Where are they now?"

"At Sub Pen Three. They ordered you to join them as soon as they arrived". 

"Not yet. What's the status of the base?"

"There's no hull integrity on sub pens One and Two. There's no main power and the emergency batteries will go dead in a couple of hours. When they're gone it will sink since damage to the majority of the modules has compromised their water tightness".

"What about survivors Petty Officer?" The non-commissioned officer turned towards the councilman and shook his head. "Half the crew is dead, the other half missing. We have spotted remains of a Triton floating on the water on our way here. The other one and the two Barracudas are completely destroyed on the sub pens". 

"The aliens must have taken the rest alive. Poor bastards". Delacroix shook his head in repulsion afterwards and the petty also scowled at the comment. A moment later the older blonde asked the NCO. "What about Captain Hunt?" For the past thirty years the once SEAL and X-Com officer had been the commanding officer of SORESO and had managed to maintain the position at the start of the war although his age was already past retirement. "We found him dead at the bridge, sir. He went down fighting, with a dart pistol still on his hand". 

Williams grimaced and Delacroix swore. After his voice came almost in a whisper. "Petty, who did this? Was it also the aliens like in the Pacific base?" The non-commissioned officer nodded. "But there's something you and the councilman should see sir". 

"More bad news?" The ensign started leading them over another hatch and through a corridor. "It's just better if you see it for yourself sir". As they moved over one of the base's cargo section they noticed dead human bodies, some still holding weapons. Until the ensign stopped by a figure that had been covered by a tarp. Grabbing it with his hand, he removed it, revealing the alien body underneath. 

Delacroix's eyes went wide at the sight and the other man also moved closer to examine the figure. It had a humanoid configuration but by its appearance it was clearly a reptile, with a tail and a long jaw filled with sharp teeth. Yellow scales covered its skin and it also had a orange crest running from the head to the tail. "What is this???" Using the tip of his diving boot he poked the dead creature. Its skin was hard. 

The councilman was looking at it with very carefully. "Whatever it is it didn't come from the first war. We need to get this back to the labs as soon as possible to see where it did came from…."

"You mean you want to use to press your absurd theories, Councilman Williams". The voice made the three men to turn towards a hatch where one figure had just stepped inside. 

He had a diving suit like Delacroix with the X-Com insignia on the top of the left arm but no indication of rank. As both he and the ensign recognized him, they stood in attention and saluted while Williams simply looked in frustration. 

"Inspector General Alkeviades, this is a new alien race that has never been reported before. We need to retrieve the body of the creature". 

The man's blue eyes narrowed and his cheeks rose. Examining the dead alien for one second, she quickly turned her attention back to Williams. "I disagree, councilman. We already know everything we need about the aliens. This thing is just a freak. Probably another one of their pets from the invasion and quite an ugly one". She shook her head. "There's no scientific value in researching it. And right now we can't afford the money to built the installations we just lost here". 

The tone of Williams' voice told Delacroix that the older man was getting irritated. "Inspector-General…". He cut him short. 

"Councilman! As far as I'm concerned you have no official business or". He put an emphasis on the word. "Any power here. Since this base was once your property I can understand that you have chosen to see it for your own eyes but anything other than that and I will have to make an report of your actions to the Council". 

He still had one last card and he played it, although he knew that it would be useless. "The Admiral can order the body to be brought back". 

"The Admiral has just ordered all rescue operations to be terminated upon my advice. There's no survivors and we are tying up here important resources on a base that will sink to the bottom in a matter of hours". 

"What about the alien artifacts?" He looked at the creature's weapon that was standing on the metal ground close to a wall. "We don't need more of their weapons". Delacroix replied. "There's enough already piled up". He added with his disgust. 

Williams was about said another argument but he decided against it. Nodding to him in acceptance of defeat he turned away. "As for you Lieutenant, the Admiral has also decided you are no longer needed here. You and your craft are to get back to Norfolk at once". Delacroix quickly understood that it was the Inspector that didn't want to see him anymore at the wreck of the base. Giving an almost casual salute to him, he headed towards the entrance hatch with Williams following him.

When both men were away from the cargo area and in one of the corridors, Williams stopped and turned to Delacroix asking. "How badly does this mean for us?"

"Well, " Delacroix snapped it out in brief sentences, trying to not to release any emotion. "We just lost a big portion of early detection for the whole of the Atlantic. Not to mention the fact that even if the listening post that they are building on the Mediterranean doesn't suffer anymore delays, it will still be two months before we can have any detection capability there. Or that an entire strike force has been lost here and that both Norfolk and the Artic floating base will start to have more work now". 

"Pretty much my own conclusions. I just wish that the Council hadn't turned down Hunt's request to equip this base with Gauss defenses". Although the schematics for the base installation that would attack any craft threatening a X-Com installation on one had been deployed yet. Williams hadn't directly looked at them, needing only to know if they would work and the scientists here at SORESO had reassured him. Now they were dead but at least their work had been uploaded to the UFOPedia, X-Com's database network that contained all information that had ever been compiled by the organization's during its existence, dating from the first Alien War. The highly classified files inside the network were stored in different locations around the globe preventing the scientific information from ever being lost. 

"I wonder even if they had them if they would have a chance. After the destruction of the Pacific base most officers at SORESO told me that they were just sitting ducks on the water and the Admiral was simply ignoring the requests for better defenses". 

Williams nodded. "If Admiral Kole was one of my employees I'd have her fired today and put a major lawsuit on her because of losses". 

"Sir, the 'Old Hag' has to go. Commodore Paris has also shared with me his opinion of her in private and quite a few officers believe it also". 

"It's not that easy Delacroix. You know how the Council works. She still has a lot of friends there". 

The officer shook his head. "See, we've discussed this before. Nobody is paying any real attention to the aliens. They are organized and have far more resources than we thought at the beginning".

Giving a quick look at one of the bulkheads above, Williams nodded in agreement. "We should have expected this. I only hope it isn't too late to start changing things. What do you think we should do first? That is, besides sacking the Admiral".

"The list is longer that a kid's wishes for Santa Claus, councilman. We need more gauss weapons available instead of being sold. The ban on Zrbite and sonic weapons must be lifted. We need to research more into the real purpose of the devices that they are trying to activate. We could use better armor. You want me to continue?"

Williams gave him a mock smile. "I wish things would be that simple so that I could to that at the stroke of a hand but there are too many interests involved. The Oil Cartel will oppose any move regarding Zrbite fuel because of their fears that it might replace their main source of income. The same motive applies to gauss weapons: everyone is making a bundle of money from their sale". 

"Just convince them to give us the sonic weapons that are stockpiled then. They're no good to anyone being left on the old warehouses at Japan". Complex YY-18 was the only complex remaining from the First Alien War. The Japanese government had retaken control of the facility after the disbandment of X-Com and afterwards had leased the base when the force had been reborn. Although the workshops and craft assembly lines that once occupied a major portion of the underground caves were now silent of activity and machinery the empty space had been used to storage the increasing amount of alien artifacts recovered. 

"I'll do my best but everyone is worried also that they might mean a break on the current ceasefires. A lot of weapons will disappear the minute we start issuing them". 

"You're starting to sound like the Inspector General, councilman". He spoke the name as it if was a curse in front of Williams since they both shared the same thoughts about the tall man that they had encountered before. The figure of the Inspector General had been one of the first decisions taken by the Council after they had decided to reactivate X-Com to investigate and fight the alien activity after the initial reports in 2039. While at first its role was to simply serve as a liaison between the Council and the force, its powers had been widely expanded to include control over scientific and operational matters. 

"Just being realistic. We need more proof that the aliens are up to something big before I can force the Council of Funding Nations to give what we need. Unfortunately," He looked at one of the human bodies on the floor. "The aliens just took out our main research facility. It was stupid to concentrate all of our resources here. This will considerably slow down things and we will need to rebuild our research from scratch. I've just decided to activate Operation Rebirth". 

A flare went up in Delacroix' eyes. "You mean the frozen Captain?" Now it was time for Williams to be surprised. "Yes, Markovitch. She will be brought up to Norfolk in a few weeks from her present location. When she awakes I want you and Braddock there". Still unpleased, Delacroix nodded to him. 

July 31st, 2044

X-Com Incorporated Headquarters, Geneva, Switzerland

  
"Councilwoman Puuri". Williams nodded to the woman who was dressed in an exquisite and well-cut sari that approached him as they were waiting for the start of the Council's meeting in an antechamber. Like him all of the men in the red-carpeted hall were wearing high-expansive clothing while the few women all had the female equivalent of business dressing. 

With a dark-tanned face that marked her as an Indian and smooth features she looked harmless…until the time the real discussions started. And she represented the only member of the council whose percentage of shares of X-Com's stock could rival with the US's leading partner in the enterprise. She was the representative for the Asian Coalition, a loose confederation of what had been previously been India, the countries of Indochina and the People's Republic of China. Although the political weight of the coalition was low it had nearly a half of the world's population inside its borders the economic power of the developing nations still had a tremendous potential. However, the region had its own series of regional problems and conflicts, with clashes between the Coalition and other surrounding countries, including Unified Korea, Neo Japan and Free China, the former the new name of Taiwan after it had decided to proclaim itself as the sovereign Chinese state when mainland China had joined the Coalition. Those three countries were also members of the council and their combined power actually superseded the US but for the most part they were happy to support Williams initiatives. Leaving few grounds for what seemed to be important matters that they wanted to reach a settlement as Williams waited for her to open her hand. As they engaged through a number of harmless talk regarding the month's events, her voice dropped a tone as she almost naïvely said. "We are starting to look at this Killer's activities with great concern. We know other incidents like this one have occurred amongst the American command of the force".

Williams knew quite well it also since it wasn't quite a secret anymore. Two months ago a soldier based at Norfolk had failed to report back to the base and had been declared absent without a leave. Its body had been found two weeks ago after the neighbors of the room he had been renting outside the barracks started to complain about the smell coming from his apartment. The police had found the body inside and apparently an unknown assassin with unknown intentions had shot him at his home. But the autopsy's results had been kept a secret so far and few other than Williams knew about it. The cause of death had been determined by a high-energy beam that had cauterized the entry wound and the inside tissues after having cut through the man's heart. 

Or in other words as the doctor responsible had told him, these type of burns hadn't been seen for a long time now and only appeared on the textbooks. For they showed the classical reports of the high-powered lasers that once used the now inexistent Elerium fuel to power the beam. But this showed that someone in the world still had access to that technology. And for a number of times the individual or entity involved had been targeting X-Com personnel all over the globe. 

"We will support the discussion of any measures proposed to be taken towards this problem". He had already his own ideas quite clear but there was no need for her to know that yet. Still smiling to him, she pulled off his mask of deception. "And I'm sure you already have a number of ideas that will be discussed. I'm confident we can arrange an beneficial agreement for all?" The Council's decisions were valid if backed by a two-thirds majority of the shareholders. The US and the Asian Coalition combined had a bit more than a quarter of the necessary votes. But now the chances for it being approved had just improved considerably taking into account the leading role that both countries had in their own regional alliances. 

He nodded to her in unspoken agreement. Smiling, the Indian woman moved away from him and entered the conference room. Setting down his glass, Williams noticed that the Alaskan representative was also lagging behind like him and remaining close to the table. Wearing a high-collar dark green suit, the dark haired man with a frail appearance seemed to be waiting. Although the political differences carved an abyss between the representatives of the US and the PRA, both men had managed to deal in a civilized manner between them. Even if Williams wasn't supposed to be talking to him since the US didn't recognize their independence yet. 

"Mr. Williams". The man didn't offer a hand as he approached him. "The meeting is about to start in a few minutes. Shall we start heading for the chamber?" Nodding to him, they both took short steps. They were the last ones and their conversation wasn't going to be heard.

"Something on your mind, Mr. Roberts? Have Mrs. Puuri also talked to you about this 'Killer' business?" Most definitely he would have, Williams already knew. The PRA was part of was known as the "Oil Cartel", an alliance made by the oil exporting countries inside the X-Com council. Together with the Arabian Bloc, Egyptian Cartel, Brazilian Union and Asian Coalition, the PRA had been responsible for the Zrbite ban.

Instead of the Elerium used by the aliens to power their weapons in the First War, the underwater aliens used a material for fuel so strange that no one at SORESO had managed to duplicate until their demise. The research had shown it to be a mixture of gold and some unidentifiable alien material that had no connection to the ones used by the original aliens. But although they couldn't identify most of its components, the scientists had discovered it was the energy source that allowed the aliens to power their weapons and craft. At first they had been baffled since they had tried to bombard it with high-energy particles to release energy like the original Elerium worked. They had utterly failed until a scientist had remembered to use another type of radiation rather than nuclear particles. But after the   whole of the electromagnetic spectrum had been tried the results were still negative. They had only discovered what activated the Zrbite's hidden power after expanding their tests to include sound waves. 

When the material was struck by a high pitch sonic wave it amplified the sound, releasing tremendous amounts of energy. It had been found that the Zrbite could provide as power as ten times the same amount of conventional plutonium fuel. Although it wasn't as powerful as Elerium it was a clean energy source and that could be used underwater. However, so far X-Com's soldiers had never fired a weapon powered by it on combat. A ban had been put into place three years ago on all Zrbite research and weapons after the schematics for the newly Gauss technology had been stolen by PRA's agents and used against American forces patrolling the cease-fire line. Back then no one wanted to allow another technology to upset the current world balance and the Oil Cartel wasn't also interested in a fuel that could turn the value of their petroleum reserves into zero. In the past years Williams had managed to convince the other countries that they should authorize weapons based on Zrbite but the Oil Cartel still had enough shares to block any initiative. And the Inspector General had made sure that no further research had been undertaken on the issue. 

"Mrs. Puuri has also discussed with the PRA the concerns of her nation, Mr. Williams. We are sympathetic to her arguments".

"Then, what you do want to discuss with me?" 

"Nothing particular at the moment councilman. However, the situation might change in the future. But it seems that the meeting is about to start. Shall we get inside?" Williams nodded and both men entered the room. 

The time before lunch was completely taken discussing the force's financial status. After the nearly dead UN had regained control of what remained of the original X-Com by invoking a secret clause on the contract that Williams had signed, a new Council of Funding Nations had been established to control the force. But unlike the previous war, this time the countries and corporations that were shareholders had decided to take a more strict control of what was happening inside. No one wanted a repetition of what had happened in the previous war, where X-Com's independence had brought severe headaches to a number of countries. 

The sixteen members decided the force's monthly budget each month. Each country or corporation would decide the funds that it would allocate based on their evaluation of the force's effectiveness. But those discussions were now more considered a pro-forma that had to be done just because the charter stipulated it so. The most important issue that everyone really cared at the meetings was the dividends coming by the sale of the materials recovered from shot down UFOs and from the production of Gauss weaponry. 

Since no there was Elerium left to power the plasma weapons from the previous war and the lasers wouldn't work underwater, one of the first things that the now dead scientists had turned their attention to was to develop a new weapons technology called Gauss. Williams knew its principles quite well: he had been the one to foster research into it while SORESO was still under his command. Taking the concept of a high-energy ionized beam the engineers had been able to find a way to circumvent the lack of the Elerium that powered it. The ammunition was simply a pellet of fissionable material that was used by the particle accelerators to both power the reaction by the use of a matter-antimatter reaction and serve as a warhead consisting of anti-protons that would annihilate the normal protons of the matter that composed the target. However, to increase the lethality of the beam the scientists had used a Gauss curve. On a x-y graph where x was the time and y the potency, the beam had a inverted bell curve. At first it would be harmless but as the power grew it made the weapon powerful enough to be used either above and underwater. The first combat tests had quickly shown the potential of the weapon to X-Com and to the Council also. 

At first it had been tried to restrain the new technology to X-Com but some countries had immediately started to try to get access to Gauss schematics. Then, the sinking of an US aircraft carrier on what seemed to be a minor skirmish with PRA forces on the northern Pacific had shown to everyone that the Alaskans had been successful and there was no point in keeping the technology a secret, especially since all militaries wanted it for their own use. And the sale of the Gauss weapons being built at X-Com's Indian base had now turned into the most waited item on every month's meeting agenda. With the current worldwide economic crisis everyone was in dire needs for additional revenues and Gauss technology was just a golden egg chicken that suit everyone's needs. But for this meeting there was other things more pressing and Williams patiently waited through the after lunch discussions until they reached the final point of the agenda. 

The meeting room had a circle of desks aligned in a circle, each one occupied by a representative and with one additional used by Admiral Kole and Inspector Alkeviades. The tables were equipped with vision sets, which projected computer generated images on the air, allowing the council members to access information and distribute it through the rest of the Council. 

When Williams' turn finally arrived he knew exactly how to lead the discussion, although he wasn't completely sure of its results. Still, raising himself from the chair he composed his jacket before speaking. 

"My fellow colleagues, while we have already taken measures to lessen the impact of the destruction of SORESO, I still believe that there's more that we must do to achieve our end of stopping this war". Most of the individuals present didn't make any reaction to his opening statement although a few immediately showed their boredom with the subject. 

"And the US believes that we need new strategic approach since the containment policy that we have been wrongly following is proven to be wrong. This is not a localized matter like the majority thought at the beginning but, as the activation of the alien sites and the destruction of two bases have shown, a question far more important than political or economic issues here". Williams already knew that it would be impossible to lift on this session the Zrbite ban so he had settled to try to open their eyes to the reality. 

"And we have also scientific proof on that matter. The DNA analysis performed by SORESO's teams show that the Aquatoid's genetic structure is more stable than the one on the Sectoids of the first invasion. Also the Gillmen' genetic print shows them more likely to be Earth based than races coming from a distant star system. We have considered the aliens to be survivors of the first war, barely able to mount any threat but the attacks on civilian vessels and installations have shown it to be otherwise and not to mention the attacks on our own forces. This isn't just a case of some alien survivors that are left out from the war and are trying to survive on Earth. The Aquatoids and the Gillmen show that there's a coordinated effort behind their actions with objectives that might include taking over the control of the planet". 

"What's your point Councilman?" The Indian representative cut him off. "The aliens have adapted to our oceans. Most likely they have bred the Gillmen from some genetic experiment in one of their undiscovered colonies. Haven't they done the same with humans to develop the obscenity of the Deep One creatures? Considering we are discovering a new colony one each two months it hardly isn't surprising that they have managed to do so". 

"But that's also the thing! From where are all of the resources coming for their expansion? We have dealt with these things like they were more of a nuisance but at this rate in a matter of years they are going to start to take over entire oceans. Not to mention the strange devices they are building". 

"Yes, the so called transmission device theory advanced by SORESO's scientists before their destruction. That the alien's are trying to built a device to communicate with other star systems". Puuri shrugged it off. "While that is disturbing news if confirmed they still have to complete it and there will be a time before additional alien forces arrive. That is, if they are still out there in the universe". 

"Still there in the universe? You think the few million we killed on the First War were the only ones alive in the entire galaxy or universe?" 

"Despite the fact that either the search crew sent to Mars on 2009 failed to find any further alien installations on the planet, it is quite possible that the whole alien invasion originated from the planet. We shall consider all possibilities at this point, councilman". Puuri's tone of a lecture annoyed Williams. "Probably there's a good reason for that 'transmission device' is nothing more that just a piece of useless alien technology like those cryogenic chambers you researched upon. There hardly is any commercial value to them and still you endorsed further research on it". Williams knew that Puuri had a point there and he had to concede. There was absolutely no research over the alien's intentions that could be trusted. Even the captured aliens hadn't been able to add much to what was their intention. And he couldn't tell the council of the real reasons why he had that technology researched by the late teams of SORESO, although Captain Markovitch's awakening had made him relax a bit.

"Very well". But he still had one last card to play. "I that case I move for we to issue immediate orders for all bases to take out those sites the minute they are activated". 

This time the Admiral rose from her chair. She was a small woman on her fifties with brown hairs and a pair of glasses that stood at the tip of her nose. "Are you mad? We can't afford the resources!" 

"This will be a preventive measure then. There is documented proof that those sites allow the aliens to deploy their strange energy capable of impossible physical disturbances. This way we can prevent against both possibilities". He looked at the admiral and the inspector-general, who although they couldn't vote they were able to watch independently who things went. The inspector, who acted as the secretary for the meeting, reluctantly acknowledged his unspoken request for a vote and waited for the arguments to calm down before announcing it. 

Williams was already sure that he had a fairly chance of the measure being approved. Most of the countries weren't pleased by the activation of the sites. When the poll showed that he had the two-thirds necessary the Admiral grimaced. She had good reason for doing so, Williams noted. She would definitely had preferred for the teams to stay out of it since so far only two teams out of five had even come back alive. This would make her lose men and ships and cut through her own funding.

Later, when the meeting was over and Williams was on his way to the hotel before boarding a plane back to the US, he found the Alaskan representative on the foyer of the installations that housed the headquarters of X-Com. He'd half-expected that the man would be pleased with the results of the meeting but instead the thin man looked at him in curiosity. He had his blue cap with a white star on the front and looked as if he was also about to leave. 

Holding his hands together he turned to the millionaire and spoke. "Mr. Williams, I take that the meeting went as you intended?"

His reply was tainted with innocence. "Mr. Roberts, I'm just doing my share on this war. Shouldn't we all do the same?"

"Indeed. One thing surprised me though. This time you failed to make any mention to the Zrbite ban. Have the US chosen to completely drop the matter?"

The honesty of his own answer even surprised Williams. "It didn't seemed important since the results of such a discussion would be already known to us all. There were other matters more pressing". 

"Is that so?" A drop of sarcasm dropped into his face but before Williams could react, the man continued. "Your arguments regarding the aliens' motives can be nothing more than wild guesses but there's some merit on them". 

"If so, why did the PRA voted against the matter, Mr. Roberts? In fact, your country's vote always sided with the same group of countries". In most occasions the Oil Cartel always voted as a bloc. Their strength inside the Council came from their unity while for most of the rest of the countries it was hard to find common ground. 

Roberts smiled at the implicit mention. "The People's Republic will always defend their own interests in the Council, Mr. Williams as you know. But we are also most willing to cooperate in important matters, such as the 'Killer' issue".

"Very well". Both men nodded to one another and Williams moved to the garage to board his armored limousine. 

September 6th, 2044

Virginia, US

As the sun's light reflected on the window Markovitch remembered the Nevada desert and the hot landscape. It was a bright summer day with few clouds on the horizon and it would have been a lovely morning if not for the temperature and humidity on the air. 

She hadn't been in Washington for a long time even before she had been frozen but she remembered that the weather was milder back then. That is compared to what it was right now. According to Braddock the average temperature in the area had risen a couple degrees in the last twenty years due to a shift in the Gulf Stream. Most of the US' eastern seaboard was now considerably warmer than in the past. Swamps and bogs, something she could see in the landscape around the railway, were slowly replacing the green forests. 

_Why I'm still alive?_ She had asked that question in the hospital endless times. When she had gotten enough strength she had asked the question to Braddock, the weasel that always kept a watch on her. His explanation had been as brief as possible: apparently not all of the aliens on Earth had been defeated after Cydonia. They had gone into hiding into the oceans and had re-emerged three years ago. X-Com was fighting them again and they had woken her. But that was all he would tell her. She still couldn't believe that she was alive. Or that Johnson and everyone she knew were dead.

Apparently the medical personnel at the base had been ordered not to talk to her about the war. But Braddock had allowed her access to a 'vision' set, or how the called television nowadays. As she got better she started to watch the regular programming of the networks it had been both a relief and disappointment to see that television hadn't almost changed in forty years. Besides the fact that it now was projected directly into the air not in a screen, the programs were pretty much the same. 

Soap operas, comedy shows, contests, all of the usual crap was still present. But the most important for her had been the news. She couldn't believe how some things on Earth had turned to in the last forty years and, in the most part, for the worst. There was a general lack of resources to support the planet's current human population. Worldwide pollution problems and climate disorders that had changed ocean currents and temperatures, changing the weather in entire areas. 

She wished to be back to the hospital now. So far it was probably the only place where she had felt a resemblance of being at a home. When Braddock had stepped into her locked room the day before and informed her that she would travel with a senior X-Com officer she had felt fear but at the same time desire to understand what was going on. 

On the next day the officer had stopped to pick her up. He presented himself as Lieutenant Commander Delacroix of X-Com's US Command but instead of a uniform he was wearing civilian clothing. She had immediately catalogued him as a 'spook', someone serving at intelligence. He had briefly shaken her hand but had released it right away. She couldn't tell if it was his personality or if it was something else. 

They were now seated facing one another without saying a word. He wouldn't even look at her as if she wasn't present. They were on her way to a meeting at the Pentagon to discuss her situation. 

"So, are you going to tell me what is going on and why I'm still alive?" In front of Markovitch, Delacroix shifted uneasy on his chair. Like her, he was dressed in civilian clothing, wearing a light gray suit whose jacket was all buttoned till the top, supposedly the latest 2040 fashion. 

"It's not wise to talk about such things now, Miss Markovitch". His eyes scanned the other passengers aboard the wagon of the high-speed train they were taking from Norfolk to New Atlanta. 

"OK, so let's talk about the war. What's going on? Why couldn't you just let me die in peace? Why did X-Com had to awake me?" The man's brown eyes stared at her. Dropping his voice, he spoke. "It's better if we don't reveal that we are military, specially if we belong to X-Com". 

That struck Markovitch as strange. From what she had seen the war was not a secret and occasionally there were military press releases of confrontations.

"Does it have to do anything with those religious assholes that I saw in a talk show?" Delacroix' eyes tightened and she could tell that it was a touchy matter to him. "You meant the Cult. No, it's not because of them".  He didn't explain more, which only increased her restlessness. 

The violet skirt and jacket that had been supplied by Braddock the day before didn't help either. The artificial fabric gave her itches on her hands whenever she touched it and the color seemed to her just absurd, despite the fact that she had seen other women wearing also dresses of the same color. And the cut on both skirt and jacket were too tight for her disliking. When she was trying it she had first wondered if it the designer had wanted to reveal the chest and behind of the women who wore it. After she had seen herself on the mirror she had found that it was otherwise.  

The small round hat that she was wearing also pissed her off. While she was on the hospital her brown hair had grown long again but she had it cut the minute she had arrived at the training facility. 

Now it made her sweat and her scalp was also itching. She wanted nothing else to take it off but Braddock had told her to keep it on, especially with her hair cut so short. Nothing made sense to her. She wanted to be back in 2002 instead of being in a world were everything felt strange to her. Even X-Com seemed to be different and she wondered why they had bothered to bring her back from the dead. 

An hour later the high-speed train had arrived at the town's central station. As they stepped down and headed towards the cab parking area they passed by rows of policemen in riot control gear, with helmets and holding personal shields and batons. 

Delacroix shook his head in disbelief. "I told the councilman it wouldn't be wise to bring you at this moment here". 

"What's all of this circus for?" She asked as he pushed her to make her speed her way over the crowd. "It's in case any of the pacifist protesters decide to get violent. And they usually do so get moving". She kept silent until they finally got out of the train station and caught a cab. After the vehicle was on their way she turned to him. "Anti-war protests? Are these people crazy? Do they just want to shake hands with the aliens and became best buddies?"

Composing himself, Delacroix relaxed. The car had no driver and the computer system was taking it to a expressway. "Actually only a few portion of them sympathize with the aliens. But the whole point of this week's rallies isn't that. The majority is simply protesting about the announcement made by the President to employ naval forces to patrol the Alaska cease-fire line". The whole thing just seemed too absurd to Markovitch and she decided that she had enough already. For the rest of the journey she just kept silent and Delacroix did the same thing. 

The taxi left them at the driveway of a corporate building right located on the suburbs of the city. As both Markovitch and Delacroix stepped out the car, the sight of the facility in front of her made her stop. Unlike the rest of the surrounding buildings, which had domes and towers all painted in dull pinks and yellows, this complex had a square architecture, with the main building painted in dark blue. The front had large mirrored windows that occupied the center, with a logo painted in tall letters: "Cyberweb Systems Inc." It wasn't really painted since the whole thing was being projected on the air by large visiprojectors.  Underneath it and over the glass doors a phrase was also displayed:  "Marking you ready for the future". 

"What's this place?" Delacroix rolled his eyes upwards before answering. "A computer company". She wondered what she was doing there but he waited impatiently for her so she hurried up. After they presented themselves at the reception an escort led them to an elevator. They moved through corridors and offices until they reached a foyer where an young blonde secretary that looked young and beautiful enough to be a model welcomed them. "Commander, the councilman is waiting for you inside". Delacroix moved towards a carved wood door. On it there was a silver plaque at the level of the eyes with dark letters engraved on it. "OFFICE OF THE COUNCILMAN". Delacroix opened it and moved aside to let her enter. 

For a moment Markovitch had the brief impression that she was still in 2002 as her eyes scanned through the decoration of the office. Most of the room's furniture was made of real wood or at least something artificial that imitated it pretty well. A brightly colored carpet covered the floor with geometrical designs on it at it looked as if it had been handmade. 

Four leather sofas had been arranged into a circle and two people were standing up next to them. The wrinkles on their surfaces told that they had just gotten up to meet both officers. The tallest one was a man with a physical complexion that shown in to be his fifties although his blonde hair had almost turned completely into white and there were some wrinkles on his face. And, unlike Delacroix, he was wearing a suit more akin to the ones she used to, including a tie that extended all the way to his waist unlike the officer's, which stopped right below the chest. 

While he was grinning at her the other person's reaction to her was more of shock. She clearly seemed to be about sixty, with long strands of white mixed along her once brown hair. "Captain!" As she spoke she raised her arm towards Markovitch. Her comment made Markovitch froze as she realized that she recognized the face but couldn't place it. 

"Do you remember me? I served under you on X-Com". The memory of a young reddish face with short hair came to her. "Camay!?" The younger woman smiled at her question but before they could say anything else they were interrupted.  

"Excellent!" The taller man's words were of enthusiasm making Markovitch look at him.  As Delacroix stepped from behind her after closing the door, he saluted the man. "Lt. Commander Delacroix and Lieutenant Markovitch reporting as ordered, sir". 

The man waved him off. "Let's drop the military formalities Commander since this is an unofficial meeting. The Captain must be feeling extremely confused and we should make everything for her to be as comfortable as possible".  The officer nodded but didn't add a word. 

Markovitch looked at him with suspicion. "Just who are you and why I'm here?" Camay tried to suppress a smile as both men seemed surprised by her attitude. The man looked at Camay and nodded. "A bit reckless and eager to get things done like you told me. Very well". 

He presented his hand to her. "My name is Frederick Denman Williams, Captain Markovitch. I am the representative of the United States on X-Com's Council of Funding Nations. And I was the one who made that you would be put into cryogenic sleep for forty years". Markovitch wanted to strangle the man in that same minute. Apparently Delacroix had detected her aggressiveness since he placed himself closer to Williams and kept a careful watch at her. Unknowingly, Camay defused the situation by approaching her and placing her hand on her arm. "Captain, that's a long story. It's better if we talk about it while seated down".

After she nodded her assent all of them sat on the leather sofas. "Captain, I'm here because Mr. Williams has asked me to be present so that you could hear what happened from someone you knew". Taking a deep breath, Markovitch told her to continue. 

Camay looked at the ceiling for one second as she recollected her memories. "I'll never forget that day on Mars. More than half of us never come back alive. The Colonel, lieutenant Digriz, Yu, Bartfast…when I examined you after you suddenly dropped into the floor I mistook you to be dead. We all did," She paused, "including Colonel Johnson". Markovitch felt tears coming to her eyes. She had silently cried a number of times on her hospital bed. 

Camay's hand came on top of hers and she grabbed it. "The Colonel did an immense sacrifice. When I tried to save him the only thing he asked was about you. I told him that you were dead but after he passed away I went back to you and discovered that there was still brain activity inside you. I managed to keep you alive until we manage to bring you to one of the Avengers. Inside you were placed into one of the life-support systems during the entire travel back to Earth. However, when the doctors at Mother One examined you they discovered that your brain had suffered massive trauma due to…" 

Delacroix got up from his seat and moved to the window all of a sudden, obviously not desiring to listen to this part of the conversation. Camay looked at him and continued a moment later. "Some sort of massive psionic overload. You had stepped into a coma where you'd never return for sure". _The Brain's mental attack_. Markovitch remembered in pain. 

Turning to Williams, she asked him. "What's the commander's problem?"

"Well…probably it's better to leave it for now. Let us continue to hear the doctor". That didn't satisfied Markovitch but she was also more curious to know what happened this way.

 "The partial records we have of Young's work at Area 51 during the First War failed to bring any light into this matter. Their research didn't advance much besides collecting data and making educated guesses for predictions but they were never close to develop a theory. 

And the psi-ban froze any additional research, with the knowledge either being destroyed or locked away".

"The psi ban?"

"The Anti-Psionics Convention of 2009 signed by all countries. Psionics was classified as a 'immoral' weapon because of a number of serious incidents. Public outrage rampaged after cases of manipulation were known. While it can't stop psi able persons to be born, it classifies any intentional use of the capability as a serious felony in most countries". Markovitch realized that Delacroix's attitude was probably as result of it. She still felt a slight buzz on her body occasionally that told her that she could still "feel" something but on a lesser scale. "But my brain has recovered hasn't it?"

Williams' eyes tightened as Camay looked at him and Markovitch realized that something must be wrong. "Yes but how we don't know. Captain, after I left X-Com I went back to college and took Medical Studies, specializing into neurology. When Mr. Williams invited me for a very special internship after my graduation I was shocked to see that you had been frozen to converse you. For years I've worked to conserve your body while repairing your brain. The first one was done after hard work but the second proved impossible no matter how anyone on the team tried. Until something happened". 

"The alien devices". Markovitch looked at Williams as he completed Camay's unfinished idea. "The what?"

Williams put his hands together. "The aliens are activating massive underwater devices whose purpose is still unclear. However there have been reports of freak nature incidents on the area. They are one of the reasons why the war is getting bad for our side. Please continue Doctor". 

"The first device was activated on 2042. The fifth one occurred about one month before we brought you out of the induced coma. In every one your brain activity increased although the coma kept it at a low. Somehow they also seemed to affect you but they actually healed the trauma. But we have no idea of how this happened". 

She started to feel restless. "Wait a minute. What does that mean?"

"We don't have a clue. Apparently it has also affected other people with high psi levels but that's not something that will be discussed in the open".  The same issue again, Markovitch realized. 

"However, when coupled with the reports from the fighting at Cydonia give us a very disturbing picture, Captain. There were some strange claims about you. Camay and some of the surviving soldiers reported that you were the one who lead the force into the alien Brain. There was some sort of connection between you and it". She felt uneasy about his motives for asking. "So?" 

"Captain we need to know if they were true. They could as well mean the survival of this planet".

"They were true, I guess. I don't know. Satisfied?" She shrugged her shoulders. "I don't really care. Why have you awaken me anyways? What's going on with the war?" Williams slowly nodded, realizing that she wasn't going to discuss it anymore than the necessary. Motioning Delacroix to come, the man moved away from the window towards them. Markovitch realized that the man must have been listening to the entire conversation even if he had made a point of not getting next to her and pretending that he wasn't interested. 

"Captain, I bought X-Com when it was privatized using the money I made through Cyberweb. I have kept it until the aliens resurfaced and the government decided to retake control of the force. At that point I left Cyberweb's management to be appointed to the Council afterwards but now I have the company of fifteen other directors and a majority takes all decisions now. But while our presence financial status is stable at the moment, I think the company has taken wrong strategic approaches to the alien problem". 

Markovitch stared at him and laughed. "You're supposed to be my boss? With that kind of corporate talk?" She expected him to be mad at her but to her surprise he smiled and she felt it was genuine. "You're quite correct. I'll leave to the Commander to explain our current situation". He turned to Delacroix who sat down. 

"Lieutenant…" Markovitch wondered to whom he was talking to. Could it be to Camay, she wondered. "Captain I mean. It's better if I call you that since we have made some decisions about you meanwhile". 

Who the hell did he think he has! "Commander…" She interrupted him. "Who told you that I still like being here or even to lose my ability to decide about what I can do? And what is this lieutenant/captain thing? As far as I know I was still a captain when I dropped dead to the floor on Cydonia". 

His face went white as Williams quickly reached forward. "Quite right Captain. You are free to leave any time you want but please hear us first". 

To where, Markovitch suddenly realized. Probably all of the people she knew where dead or were old people now. It seemed to her that Williams was also perfectly aware of the fact. Although it bothered her that he could only be using it to his advantage she kept seated down. "Sorry for interrupting you Commander. Please continue". 

The naval officers forehead eased but his voice still showed his anger and confusion. "Well, first the whole captain/lieutenant has to do with your present status on X-Com. Officially you're still dead but if you are reintegrated into the force you will hold the naval equivalent of your former rank, namely a lieutenant. But for that to happen, we want to check your combat abilities first, in case you choose to remain in X-Com. Most of the fighting so far has been done underwater and while it can be mastered, there are also a number of things that need to be relearned completely. For a number of other reasons it will be better if you take it from the scratch and be assigned as a new recruit". 

"But why am I so important? To see if I can also fight underwater? What's the point?"

Williams interrupted. "Captain, we are in desperate need of good combat officers". Just that, she wondered as she recall the discussion that concerned her psi abilities but Markovitch chose not to mention it. She had realized that the only thing that she could do at the moment was fighting the aliens. There was nothing else to go back to. 

"Until now this war has been run by a bunch of bureaucrats who fill progress reports and decide on military matters. And while first it seemed that the alien activity was sporadic there are disturbing signs that it is escalating. We need to start changing some things". Williams' tirade seemed full of empty enthusiasm to her as if he really didn't believe it. "And believe me please. You may not like what you see out there on the forward base and amongst the soldiers. That's what we will be trying to change Captain".

"OK, I got your point councilman. But tell me something first. I heard somewhere on the news that the aliens were the remnants of the ones who survived the first war that hid themselves on the oceans. What's the big problem about them?"

"That is the assumption on which we had been operating for too long with mediocre results". 

"The Earth must be rid of all the aliens. Things only got worse when after they arrived". Delacroix's voice was unexpected. Now to Markovitch the officer sounded more convict of his ideas. Why was that? Did it matter?

"I can agree with that". She conceded and he looked at her in suspicion. "But I take it that there are more problems than just the lack of good officers". 

"You bet. The war has been raging for nearly three years and there seems to be no end on sight to it. Until now we have lost hundreds of aquanauts, dozens of craft and two of our floating bases while we tried to 'contain' them, as the Council defines our mission". 

"Contain? Are they fighting guerrilla style?"

"Close but there's more to it. The number of their incursions and bases keeps increasing. We don't know how they are supporting that effort or where they get their subs or soldiers. And there are the Synomium devices".

"You've mentioned it before. What are they?" 

"Underwater facilities that once activated they unleash tremendous power of unknown origin provoking severe changes into the surroundings. We have detected six so far. Every time we have sent there a craft to investigate the team never gets back". 

"Wait a minute. Could it be possible that there's a second Brain here on Earth?" Memories of the chamber at Cydonia came to her mind when she had tried to control the first one. She had seen others of its kind and they had reacted to her presence. But all of them were far away on distant stars because she only felt the presence of the one in front of her in the entire Solar System. 

"Now that is an interesting point Captain". Williams nodded. "So far we have scanned all of the oceans looking for one but we haven't found anything. Either it's buried somewhere where we can't detect it or there's none. Of course, until now maybe we haven't probed with the right tools".

The quizzical tone hit Markovitch like a guided missile. _Of course!_ _They woke me up to see if I could sense it somehow!_ _But I haven't felt anything like I did back then. I haven't felt anything at all for that matter. _Memories of Johnson come back. 

Noting her reaction Williams nodded but didn't tell much more. From her hopeful face Camay seemed also to believe that she could sense it while Delacroix had gone skulking again. 

With a bit of frustration Williams closed the subject. "Until further evidence that's only an hypothesis. However, the alternative to explain their actions is more sinister". 

"Meaning?" A sense of dread came to her. 

"The aliens might be trying to built a communications device to establish contact with the rest of their race. In that case, if they are successful we can only expect that an alien fleet to arrive when they complete it". The memory of the other brains in space hit her like a heavy laser shot. "There are other brains out there. I can tell you that for sure". The implication made all of them quiet. Williams nodded to her and she sensed that she had just confirmed something to him. 

After a brief seconds on which no one spoke, as the faces of everyone besides Markovitch turned grim, Williams caught up himself and said. "I would say you have already been worth our investment. Before you go there's one last matter that you should be advised. Besides the aliens we are facing a problem that is starting to be worrying inside X-Com". 

"Oh?" Somehow it didn't surprised Markovitch that the organization would also be plagued with problems forty years later. So far from what she had learned from X-Com's history the Council had simply told all remaining soldiers and personnel that they were out of a job now that there were no aliens. Looking at Camay that angered her. _How could they have been so stupid? What have they done now?_

Williams caught her reaction and added. "There are a lot of things that need to be changed inside the force Captain and you will discover it. However, this is something external that might put your life at risk. And the danger is not from the aliens". 

"The Killer". Camay's voice showed fear and anger at the same time. 

"The Killer?" Williams nodded to her. "Yes. Someone, either a single individual or an organization is targeting X-Com personnel and craft. And Mr. Smith, who was a member of the board I chose to take care of Cyberweb while I represent the US at X-Com has been murdered". 

"From what I've heard so far it's not that surprising that you have some good enemies out there. Who is it? The Cult? Why don't you go and crack their heads open?"

Williams smiled at the suggestion while Delacroix looked at her closely. "We actually can't be sure that the Cult is responsible and we'd need extreme proof before we struck on them. It could start a civil war inside mankind". 

The argument seemed almost impossible so she asked, already afraid of the answer. "What do you mean? I thought they were just a few numbers scattered around". 

"That's the general idea that is constantly being bombarded by the media. But the truth is far more ugly than that. We estimate that twenty-five percent of the world's population is alien sympathizers, although only a small percentage are actually Cult members. In numbers, that's about two billion people who believe the aliens are their gods or peaceful galactic neighbors".

The number didn't came easy from her throat "Two billion people!? Where have those people been on the last war?" 

"Most of them weren't born yet. And growing up in a planet where one quarter of the population is as richer as the whole rest combined sure leaves resentments. Most of these people grew up in polluted and overcrowded cities with no future at all.

Still, the problem is bigger in some countries than others. In the US, the official census taken in 2040 lists them as six percent of the population. We consider that number to have an error margin of fifty percent. Now days I wouldn't be surprised if they already were more than ten percent of the US' population. But it still isn't a big problem here, although Eurasia and a number of other countries are starting to have real issues".

Markovitch was glad that she had been seated on the leather sofa otherwise her knees would have folded in already since she still felt weak. "But in the place were you are going you won't nothing to worry about besides the aliens, Captain. Still try to be careful until we resolve this Killer problem".  

Later when the meeting was over and they were getting ready to leave, Delacroix approached her and said.  "Lieutenant Braddock will be assigned to your base to watch for you". _To make sure that I fall in line and do as you expect me_. She added, already feeling that she would dislike the experience. "If you need to talk to the Councilman or me use him". 

"I'm sure I'll see you in person again, Commander". The man froze in front of her. But then he nodded to her and said something that completely surprised her. 

"Also if you experience any problems coming from your 'special abilities', report them to us immediately". He nearly spat out the words. "And don't worry Captain. While it's quite obvious I have strong negative feelings towards them, I'll try for them not to interfere on my judgment". She tossed him a salute and he replied a second later. 

The last person that she said goodbye was Camay. As they approached one another the elder woman shifted her feet uncomfortably and Markovitch sensed uncertainty on her. "Captain, there's one last issue that I have to tell you about".

 "Oh? What is it about?" Williams had stepped away from them after had enthusiastically shaken her hand and wishing her good luck. He and Delacroix were now talking but it seemed more as if they had chosen to stay out deliberately of this conversation. 

"You have….." Her voice came as a whisper. "You and the Colonel have a daughter". She thought that Camay had gone insane and nearly started laughing at the impossible claim. "That's impossible Camay, I have never conceived". For a moment she thought that all of this couldn't be more than a dream. 

Still unsure of how to put it, the elder doctor continued. "I know you haven't. But your sister did as a surrogate mother, using the ova and sperm you and the Colonel left behind at Area 51". That slapped her hard across the face. When Johnson had told her about the upcoming mission to Mars just days before the take-off they had realized that most likely one of them wouldn't be coming back, if not both. In all of the three years that they had spent together in the base they had put aside any dreams of marriage or having children but at that moment those thoughts had seemed extremely important to them. He had been the one to make the proposal, after having already discussed the possibility with the base's doctors. But now that moment seemed too far away and too close at the same time. 

"My sister…she had our kid?" Camay nodded. "Your family was informed that there were few chances for you to ever get out of the coma. When I asked them and Colonel Johnson's family about the genetic legacy your sister asked to be impregnated with a fertilized egg so that all of them would have something to remember you and the Colonel. Nine months after your daughter was born".

"Does…does she know that I'm alive?"

"From what I'm aware, no. Like your sister and parents, she knew about your condition but we haven't told her about your recovery. I guess that to her you have died a long time ago and we didn't want to bring any unnecessary stress until your full recover". _So, we're complete strangers to each one_. "What's her name?"

"Linda. She currently lives in Baltimore with your grandson. If you wish I can give you the address". Markovitch didn't know what to do, so she took the directions although she couldn't make a decision. The realization of Camay's words lasted through the whole train trip back to Norfolk and in the days after. 

After she and Delacroix had left, Camay and Williams remained on his office. Going for a polished wood cabinet on one of the corners of the room he poured two glasses of mineral water and came back to the sofas, giving one to Camay, who politely accepted it. After they both took a sip, he asked her. "Your analysis of her doctor?" 

"She's a little thin but I don't think there will be any problems, although the mention of her daughter must have really shaken her. And so far the device seems to be working perfectly". After a moment she added. "Are you sure that it was a good idea to present her to Delacroix? You've seen his reaction to her. I doubt that he'll ever trust her. And what about Madhouse? Everyone knows that base is in some really troubled seas".

Putting down his glass Williams replied. "I saved him when the Cult attacked the Inquisitors' office here in Washington. He might not like the prospect of working with a psi but I'll leave that problem for both of them to resolve. I already have my share of problems with the Council. And as for Madhouse, the Commander's reasons were solid: we have to keep her hidden from attention". 

."Still, I believe you're risking a full head collision between both of them. And if the Council hears from this you have just served them your head on a platter". 

"Life is a gamble doctor. You only need to quit before the stake gets too high". The phrase was following by a wide grin on his mouth. She shook her head in defeat. "I've long quit arguing with you in some matters, Fred. But this reminds of what we were discussing before they entered here. Are you sure that you want me now on the team of the scientific facility that they are building at Norfolk? From what I've heard of the Inspector General I would prefer not to have to deal with her personally".

"And you're right. I'd prefer to have you to remain doing your work but now I also need more to have scientists I can trust inside X-Com. The destruction of SORESO left me with few other choices and I could choose the best". 

She grinned at the comment but sent him away. "Fred, you know I'm immune to your flattery. Leave to the secretary you have outside. I've been making a survey of all of the  information on the UFOPedia compiled so far by SORESO and the smaller teams at Australia and Japan". 

"Like I asked you to do. What have you discovered?"

"That even with a special authorization from the Council the Inspector General will still certify herself that you're not trying to duplicate any of the data. I'd only wish that woman was present at SORESO when the aliens took it out. If only she hasn't been so lucky to outside the base at the moment!"

Williams smiled at the thought but motioned her to carry on. "Well, we have all the data for the Gauss technology plus schematics for a new type of hand weapon. On the sonic department things don't look as bright. The basic physics have been understood regarding the sonic beams and Zrbite but aside a brief study of the weapons the aliens deploy that's it. The topics regarding advanced armor or craft are just empty directories. We have made studies into the building materials the aliens use and some regarding the morphological differences between the known species, but nothing too detailed. Besides Gauss, the only topic who research is close to be completed is something called 'Thermal Shock Cannon'. Apparently it's considered a non-lethal weapon so it passed the Inspector's scrutiny. However the ban on Zrbite prevents its operational deployment. But besides it and the aqua-plastic armor they haven't really tried to get better weapons or protection".

"Which now is a piece of equipment that the entire armed forces are going after. You wouldn't know for how much X-Com sells them". 

"I prefer not to know. Especially when most of that money could go into research. In three years we have made negligible advances into alien research and that was what allowed us to go to Mars on the first war. The ban on Zrbite killed most of the projects going and the destruction of SORESO left us stranded at the beach. The only thing were we have been able to make progresses so far is my... special research". 

 "Carry on with it as much as you can. I have a feeling we are going to need it in the future". That made Camay to feel a bit uneasy. "Can I stop first at Norfolk before I head back to Iceland to get my notes and personal belongings? I also think the Captain is going to need someone to talk to in the next days". Williams' reply was sympathetic. "Of course". 

André Galvão, 2002 


	3. Swift Tide

X-Com: Abyssal

Chapter Two – Swift Tide

"First Alien War, The (Short version – please check for separate entries within the UFOPedia for more detailed information or go here if your viewer doesn't have Hop language installed and you would like a list of topics related to this subject). 

_The first conflict on which mankind saw itself involved against extraterrestrial forces started on the waning years of the twentieth century until its conclusion on March 9th, 2002 after the defeat of the aliens on Mars. Although the general population and the world governments had dismissed until 1998 the growing reports of alien activity and UFOs, on that year a series of aggressive incidents performed by the aliens prompted Earth's nations to start organizing an effective defense against the intruders. _

_After a number of failed attempts to determine the identity and intentions of the aliens were undertaken, it was decided under the aegis of the United Nations to form the Extraterrestrial Combat Unit, or X-Com, as the name was taken both inside and outside the force. It was to be composed of elite personnel drawn from the military forces of the countries that had signed the X-Com Charter and its mission was to investigate and stop the alien attacks on Earth with the help of the regular military forces. _

_By the beginning of 1999, X-Com had started to perform combat operations, although limited in coverage of the world. The first contacts with the invaders were successful for the most part, resulting in the capture of crashed vessels and equipment. Earth's technological disadvantage forced the troops to rely on superior tactics to defeat the aliens they encountered. However, the scientists that composed the force managed to understand the alien technology and reproduce it, allowing the strike teams to fight more evenly. X-Com's teams soon boasted the latest armor and new laser and plasma weaponry, together with craft designed and built using the secrets learned from the retrieved UFOs and powered by Elerium. _

_But they soon made a startling discovery: the aliens seemed to have a vast pool of resources from which to drawn, rendering useless all efforts made by Earth to stop them unless they could stop the flow of alien troops and ships. And the original extraterrestrials, or Sectoids were soon followed by other species such as the Floaters, Snakemen, Mutons and Ethereals. X-Com found itself finding a coalition of alien species whose propose was clear: taking control of Earth and reducing humans to slavery or even worse._

_By 2001 the situation was beginning to get desperate for the humans. Not only the aliens were still expanding their activities but also some of Earth's nations had decided to establish peace treaties with them and stopped funding X-Com. And worse, the aliens had started to establish forward bases on the planet, which was interpreted as the prelude for a mass invasion by the alien fleet that had been detected on the far side of the Moon. _

_However, the interrogation of captured alien officers soon revealed the necessary information for the survival of Earth. It was discovered that the aliens operate in a hive society with a Queen, or in this case King, controlling the races that had been encountered so far from a hidden location on Mars. And after an raid performed on an alien base on Antarctica, the final piece of data was finally extracted from the aliens: the exact location of the Brain on the plains of Cydonia, an area of Mars that possessed a number of anomalous surface features that were discovered to be an alien base on that planet._

_By then it had became obvious to X-Com's military leadership that Earth's only hope was to mount a strike that could penetrate the alien defenses on Cydonia and kill the Brain, leaving the invasion without its leader. For months the entire force prepared itself for the mission, building craft and weapons while enduring alien strikes on their bases and hoping that they had the sufficient time before the alien juggernaut started. _

_After months of waiting the force finally left Mars at the beginning of 2002 and arrived at Mars on March, using advanced Avenger class craft to make the interplanetary travel in weeks instead of the months required by Earth's technology. More than a dozen ships and two hundred combat soldiers were used on the attack, which succeeded in breaking through the defenses and killing the Brain, although the majority of the troops and ships never made it back to Earth. _

_The victory achieved on Mars dictated the result of the war. The aliens stopped fighting on Earth and the Moon, showing complete disorientation and panic after their Queen had been killed. Within months the remaining forces on the planet had been defeated and Earth could now start rebuilding what had been lost in the destruction of the fighting._

- X-Com's UFOPedia

September 9th, 2044

Baltimore, Maryland, US

The cab started to move away from the concrete surface of the sidewalk as Markovitch took her first step towards the green single level house in front of her. The windows were open but she could see no shapes moving inside as she walked past the metal mailbox on her way to the entrance porch. _Just go to the door and ring the bell. It's as easy as that. _She felt very weary of what she might face in the next moments, as she was about to finally meet her daughter. _My biological daughter. And she's also Erwin's by that matter. _

Camay had suggested in Norfolk that she'd make the first contact and explain how Markovitch had been healed and had been reawaken by X-Com. It would be better if her daughter knew the truth first from the physician since it would make the whole situation more plausible to accept. _If she's a bit like me she would have either accepted it silently or make a ruckus out of it. _According to Camay, the reaction she had seen on the woman's face on the visiphone had been neither. Linda had been shocked first but then had simply listened carefully to her explanations and while at first had balked at such a meeting she had finally accepted it. After all, Camay had helped her sister to conceive her daughter. 

She tried to forget the absurdity of the whole situation as she pasted by the garage's door and stepped on the stone floor of the porch. A welcome mat was at the front of the metal door but she didn't step on it as she pressed the bell button. While waiting she saw a small camera placed over the button. For a few seconds there was no answer until the almost whisper of a voice was heard. "Yes?"

Looking at the plastic lens she gathered her strength and replied. "Hello. Linda?" She tried for her voice not to falter. "I'm Sheila, Caroline's sister. Dr. Camay called you two days ago to explain who I am". She refrained from speaking more. For a number of seconds there was no answer and Markovitch thought if she should ring the bell again until the door started to open.

The woman that stood by the door inside the house appeared to be the same age as Markovitch. Anyone passing by would probably have mistaken both as sisters. Their hair was of the same color, although Linda's was longer than Markovitch. They also shared the same perky chin and thin lips but the nose and deep eyes immediately reminded Markovitch of Johnson's facial expressions, especially in the moments where he stood silent and thinking before taking a decision. 

Still looking at Markovitch in doubt and surprise, the young woman took the first step. "Hello". Her right arm was still holding the door as if she was unsure to let her in. 

"Hi". Markovitch felt also uncomfortable, as she looked at the person that was her biological daughter. 

"You're here". Linda's intonation told Markovitch that it wasn't a question but recognition of her existence. "I wasn't sure if I should do this also. But Dr. Camay convinced me otherwise in the last days". 

"You were dead. She told me years ago that you and him were dead".

"Sometimes I wish I had remained that way. But it seems there are some things that we can't control". Her words made Linda jerk back and Markovitch wondered why she had reacted that way. But a moment later, she dropped her arm from the door and said. "I'm sorry for making you wait there. Would you like to come in?" 

Five minutes afterwards they were seated in Linda's living room around a wooden table with cups of steaming coffee in front of them. Looking around in appreciation, Markovitch tried to make causal conversation. "Nice place you have here".

"Yeah, but I've worked hard to make every penny to pay for it. Still, it's a good place even tough Alex sometimes makes a point of making a fine mess around". 

"Your son". _Her grandson. _

"He's out there playing. I didn't want for him to be here when he'll arrive. I haven't told him anything about this because I don't think he's able to understand. Hell, even I'm having a tough time". 

"I understand". Markovitch knew that she wanted to see him but refrained from saying it for the time being. "Where's his father?"

That made Linda frown. "His father is dead. Alex never really met him since he was only a couple of months old". A painful memory crossed Linda's green eyes, making them shutter for a moment before she closed them. 

To Markovitch it was apparent that, although a number of years had passed, the younger woman hadn't yet put the memories to rest. "I'm sorry. It must have been hard". 

Linda shrugged her shoulders. "Nothing that no one can't get used to". _So much like Erwin_. The false bravado remembered Markovitch of one of his attitudes when he didn't want to admit that he had been hurt. 

"I understand how you feel". She wished that she could hide the loss of him under a small white lie like Linda had done but everything was still too close. Camay had told her as a doctor that the best thing for her was to face the fact that Johnson was dead and go along with her life. But as a friend she had also told her that she would need time. Looking at Linda and her hidden fragility she wondered how much years it would require her. 

"You mean….". Linda struggled with the word before it came out of her mouth. "…father". 

"Yes. I'd wish that he could see you now". 

"Colonel Johnson, the hero". A hint of sarcasm tainted Linda's voice. "That's how Tom called him. He and the rest of the Inquisitors at the office thought all of you to be heroes". 

She had heard the expression before but hadn't paid attention to it. "Inquisitors? What are they?"

"You don't know? You sure have been out of this world, haven't you? Well, Tom believed that all evils on Earth came from the aliens. He and a number of others decided to do something about the Cult when it first appeared. At first they staged protests but things quickly got out of control and they turned into firebombing the Cult's offices and harass their members. At the time I also believed that they were right. Mom," She stopped for a moment then corrected herself. "I mean Caroline, had told me all about you and X-Com. How you and dad had fought on the war and had died on Mars to save us all from the aliens. 

Most of the Inquisitors looked at X-Com with awe and respect also. You were martyrs for the most part and Tom even knew a soldier that had fought in the war. They all shared the same hate towards the aliens and things kept going worse, with more violence as each month passed. They would stalk known Cult members and give them a beating or even something worse. Until finally the Cult got tired and struck back at one of the meetings Tom used to attend at their office. He and most of his friends were killed and everyone knew who had done it but no one was ever able to prove the identity of the attackers. I just moved from Atlanta to here afterwards in case the Cult wasn't satisfied and wanted more revenge". 

"I'm sorry…."

Linda stared back at her. "Well I'm not. I've stopped being sorry for a long time. When I grew up and Caroline explained to me who my biological mother was, I felt really proud of you had done in Mars. I guess that's why Tom and I got hooked up together. But when he died I decided that I just didn't want to care anymore". Her voice took an accusatorial tone "You can just take all your wars away for all I care and leave me and Alex alone". 

"Linda, I didn't want all of this to happen". In fact she had never imagined that what happened could be possible, including talking to a daughter that had the same biological age as her. 

She raised her hand. "Don't apologize, please. From what Dr. Camay and you told me I know that you're not to blame for all of this, at least directly. But I prefer if me and my son aren't involved into more of his either". 

Markovitch recognized the passion inside of Linda. "If it helps I think Erwin would have been proud of you and what you've accomplished to be here today. I am". 

The words made Linda froze in her chair. Then she dismissed then. "Yeah, well, I guess both grandparents made sure to tell us that a lot of times, especially grandpa Markovitch. They told me about both of you, but I had never expected to meet you in person". She shook her head. "I need to do some stuff now. Do you want something else?" 

Her eyes looked up to Markovitch. "Oh, and I think I still have your personal belongings stored on the garage if you're interested on them. Mom gave them to me before she passed away". _What else can I say? She didn't know so she simply nodded as the conversation ended. _

Fifteen minutes later Markovitch was busy cutting the tape that sealed a cartoon box on the garage after Linda had dug the package from a pile of similar containers. She had them excused herself and gone into the house while Markovitch looked at the remains of her past life. The door that led into the parkway had been open and the late afternoon sun filled the inside of the room still gave enough light for her to see the inside of the box. 

The first thing she saw was her old X-Com's dress uniform, with the dark gray fabric showing the signs of age, as some of the rims were worn out and the color was a little lighter than she remembered it. The jumpsuit still had the triple bar's insignia on the lapel to mark her former position as a captain and at the left breast her nametag was still attached. Taking it out she removed them a set of black combat boots. Searching through the inside she noticed that her black beret seemed to be missing and wondered where it could be but decided that the thing had plenty of time to be lost in forty years. However, she did find a package wrapped in red clothing that made her curious, all tied with a belt whose metal buckle had X-Com's X on a circle. When she removed it out of the box, the weight and the apparent shape told her immediately of what it was. Untying the knot, she carefully removed the clothing until a brown and red plasma pistol was revealed. 

Markovitch was both surprised and contemplative as she remembered seeing the same type of weapon being used by both humans and aliens on the First War. The pistol was a relic from the conflict and she removed the cartridge still attached to it and confirmed that it was really dead. There was no Elerium left on Earth to power the weapon but it still made her wonder why X-Com had allowed that a piece of alien technology had been sent in the middle of her personal belongings. Until as she felt the weight of the pistol on her hand she noticed the chromed plaque attached to the side of the barrel. Moving towards the entrance of the garage to read it better she finally managed to read the small words written there. 

"In the memory of Colonel Erwin D. Johnson, commander X-Com North American team – KIA 3/9/02".

She nearly dropped the inactive weapon as she realized that it was Erwin's sidearm, the same that he had used to kill the Brain on Cydonia after he had seen her dying. The thing suddenly seemed to weight a ton on her hand and her arm started shaking. "What is that?" The child's voice made her raise her head and she saw her grandson Alex standing on the parkway and looking at her and holding a basketball on his hands. 

"Nothing. Just an old toy". She started to wrap again the clothing over the weapon as he moved into the garage, still looking in curiosity at the package on her hands. 

"I saw one of those on holovision before. The skinny little people use them on the films to fight the soldiers?".

_Was is he talking about?_" The child nodded. "Mom doesn't want me to see them but sometimes I sneak out. Do you fight them?" The question made her stare at the kid in front of her. "One of what?"

"The _Littl'Alien Story_!" He added a moment later realizing her confusion. "Poid the Sectoid who has been isolated from his family from the bad human soldiers and is trying to get back to his ship?"

She just couldn't believe what she had just heard. She looked at him in puzzlement and he started to innocently explain. "They are in the holovision also besides the toys the other kids have. Captain Fury is my favorite. On the last episode she used her powers to control one of the aliens…"As the kid continued to describe what seemed to be an episode of a cartoon series depicting how the soldiers had made the UFO ran away and leaving Poid stranded on Earth she decided that she had heard enough. Markovitch shook her head as she finished putting back her gear in the box and sealing it. "That's funny Alex but now go back to playing with your ball". She finally said, making her grandson to look at her with a hurt face. __

She sighed. _Things keep going great don't they, Sheila? Do you really expect him to be able to understand why you are so stressed?_ The answer to her first question was not easy to accept but for the second one she decided that her grandson didn't have to put up with more than he already must have. "I'm sorry Alex. I didn't want to hurt you there". She smiled at him hoping that it would help but he simply lowered his head and walked to the outside. Her head also dropped to the box she was holding and realized that it had been the pistol that had made him so excited. She wondered how Linda would react if she knew that her son was seeing the _Littl'Alien Story_. 

_I can't take them along with me to wherever I'm going. All of this belongs to a past that is dead but that will always be present upon us. _She placed the box back on the floor and covered it with all of the junk that had been hiding it before. _Maybe she'll find more use to this. I don't need this stuff anymore. _

September 11th, 2044

Atlanta, Georgia, US

"Heya Boss". Every time Williams came down to the office of the chief of advanced projects department he didn't knew if he should laugh or wonder how Jake Landon could still live in the past nowadays. Then he remembered that the vast majority of humans kept themselves to that way and even more in the rough times. 

He might have entered a visishow picturing the typical environment of the 1960's for all he cared as he passed the doors, although the devices weren't that good at reproducing the scent of burning incense. The person he was going to meet had simply waved at him when he had walked inside as the sixty year old man stood seated on chair that looked more like a big living furry animal and typing commands on the air. Landon's hair and beard had turned salt and pepper over the years and he had a sweaty bandanna over his forehead. Long strands of humid air came down his head and over a leather vest that he was wearing. The walls and floor were completely covered with handmade Moroccan and Afghani carpets that were authentic, some of it worth several millions of neodollars. Amongst other paraphernalia spread around the room he found lava lamps that blew milky cocoons into blue and green seas together with some pieces of hardware. Although most of the people who knew Jake Landon called him a hippie, Williams quite disagreed with them since he was one of the best-paid employees at Cyberweb. And he had no problems in spending his money in a big capitalistic way. 

Landon had worked with the original team of scientists that had broken the UFO's ship systems on the First War at Area 51. Williams considered that 'worked' could actually not be the exact term, since X-Com had discovered that he had broken into a couple of networks while still in college and had offered him a chance: help to decipher alien code or spent the next decade or so in jail. The then young man had quickly agreed and had helped them to crack the transmissions being sent from the UFOs. 

And his accomplishments in programming had quickly been picked up by Williams after the war, which also had taken computer science at the university. His older brother Terry had shown him some of Landon's and had quickly recognized the potential. Their partnership had created a new operating system and microprocessors that were light years away from anything at the market then. Cyberweb was now the prime computer company on the entire world and Williams and Landon were the head and the heart for it, literally.

As Williams approached Landon, he wished that the slightly fat man had opened a window because of the smoke all around. "Hey Jake. How was the rocket parachuting yesterday?"

"I was needing it. Finally know what you asked me about that new stuff but you had already left. I actually nearly made it to the Oklahoma this time". Rocket parachuting was considered the closest thing to flying for a human. It consisted of strapping a small rocket engine in the legs after leaving the plane and using it to go as much faster and away before you had to pull the cord for the chute. It had been developed originally by the military as a possible mean to infiltrate special operations teams without over flying hostile airspace. Although the Army had dropped the project because of the risks it involved, the technique had been quickly adopted as a recreation sport. However, like the military had discovered, it proved to be one of the most dangerous sports with several dozen people dying every year on accidents where the rocket would suffer a problem or they wouldn't be able to reduce their speed enough to safely deploy their parachute. Together with low-orbit free falling it had been the danger sport of the last decade and apparently of this one also. "And?" Landon had a tendency to either leave the sentences half finished or full of a technical jargon that sometimes even he had a difficulty to understand.

The other man put his hands down and the visipics around him ceased, allowing Williams to see him clear. "Boss, first pass me the towel where you have just seated yourself on please?" Opening his legs, Williams saw a dark blue towel against the colored sofa where he had just sat. He pulled it you and threw it towards Landon who grabbed it on the air and used it to clean his face. "Great nature, it's hot today".

Williams smeared. "You could try putting the air conditioner on or open some of the windows. What have you thought of the device I've brought you?"

Lowering the towel to the back of his neck and holding it with two hands, Landon thought for one second before replying. "The good news: it might crackable". 

As Landon reached down and grabbed a bottle Williams asked. "Might". He considered it for a moment before making the obvious follow up question. "And the bad?"

"I have no idea how long it will take. And there are portions of it that we don't have any idea of what they are for. Plus we are going to need some better than Ruuvi on icon semantics. He's good to cleat out the details but he has failed to get some sort of a general picture about what we are seeing. When I get somebody who can start recognizing patterns on the code we can have an idea of the work in front of us". 

Williams thought of it for a minute then asked. "How much are the differences between the alien navigation system that they used on the first war and this one I've brought you?"

"Better if I simply show you". His hand started flickering on the air and the motion detectors built into the hidden electronic systems around him activated one holovision screen on the air. The excited air particles showed a symbol that seemed a mixture of Arabic and geometrical patterns. "For instance, this is the representation of the command used to define the altitude constant on the UFOs. And this" Another movement of his hand and a similar character appeared but only the curvy lines remained, although a bit blurred. "Is the equivalent of it on the navigation system used by the alien subs. Try to pick the differences if you feel up to. There's only about a hundred or so". 

"An upgrade of the system they used?"

"Upgrade my ass. The stuff every human uses when a computer is turned on _is_ the upgraded version. We designed it using the system that the aliens used to run their UFOs. Now this". He made the blurred thing to vanish on the air. "This is useless until we can figure out how it works. I'm actually not sure if I should call this another version or simply a completely different thing. There are portions of it which are common but in some cases I've seen code that is completely 'alien' if you don't mind the expression". 

"And so, can you estimate how long it will take? We are going to need this Jake and the sooner the better". 

"I know but those Council fascists should have allowed us access to this technology sooner. The guys at SORESO didn't even bothered with it and in my opinion they were right because they would have no idea where to start. How come you managed to get this stuff anyway? Or this one of the things I shouldn't ask?"

He shut off the rest of the visiprojection and Williams smiled. "Actually we're not breaking the law here. The Council decided to subcontract a company on the private sector to perform a preliminary analysis on the new systems since they decided that it would reduce costs. I simply made sure that Cyberweb was the one selected".

Landon shook his head in mock reproval. "You're the one Davis should have busted years ago and sent for long term in a federal penitentiary". And the former FBI Subdirector would most likely do so if he knew about it but he had passed away for more than ten years now, Williams considered. Landon eyes opened in horror as he remembered something. "I hope that doesn't mean that I'm going to have Council supervision here…."

His tone was menacing but Williams made him easy. "Don't worry. This thing has top priority, at least on my opinion. If Alkeviades gets down here just have Ruuvi to make a presentation to him of how things are going. A tutorial on icon semantics should wave him off. And that reminds me, be sure to hide the physical integration and implementation away from him until it's ready". 

"That will be easy since we're not going to make any for the present being. A lot of the problems we're having also come from the fact that this code is meant to use with the magnetic propulsion they use. And I we won't be able to help much on that department. This is something completely new Boss, to use magnetic waves to run a system. It won't be easy to figure it out".

"Jake, just give it a look OK?" The other man grimaced and held the towel with his hands again. 

"Don't tell me you're hoping that we might get lucky and find out that the only difference is the fact that one used Elerium and this one uses Zrbite?". His tone was ironical. "Do I look like a rocket doctor Boss? You'll have to find someone else to do that!" Slowly closing his eyes Williams grinned at the other man's disbelief. "I was just trying to cut some of the overhead expenses". 

September 14th, 2044

Western Pacific

The dark blue plane flew high above the calm waters of the Pacific Ocean heading west. Most of the inside of the Triton transport was crammed with empty gray crates bearing the insignia of X-Com but there were also human two figures clad in navy blue one-piece jumpsuits. Markovitch was one of the pair, although the nametag on her chest read: "Watkins". Braddock and Delacroix had decided that it would be better if she had a forged identity, so now she went by the name of Anne Watkins, that had less seven years than her and had been born in New York City. She couldn't understand the need for the change since it was unlikely that anyone would ever care about who she was but they had been adamant. She had also been ordered not to discuss with anyone what had been done to her or the meeting that they just had. 

But the most absurd aspect was that Braddock had also been transferred to the base where she was heading on the transport days before and she was supposed to ignore him. They had to pretend that they had nothing to do with one another and keep clear from one another. Not that it did really bother her since in fact she had exactly the opposite feeling. 

However the secrecy put upon her whole existence made her wonder about the need those men felt for it. But the more she was finding out about the world it became apparent that many things had changed and that she would have to learn a lot before. She knew she didn't have any choice at the moment about the direction that she was following. It was the only one she could take, no matter who it put her in the hands of those men. Johnson was dead; she still couldn't forget him how hard she tried. And it was up to her to see that he had dying for something. And as long as those men's agenda included to final defeat the aliens she would be a part of it. 

Remembering her daughter and her grandson she wondered how things would have gone if Johnson and her had ever got back and had a normal life after the war. As she scratched the sleeve of her jumpsuit to check on a grease spot she realized that the aliens had taken out something from her. But at least Linda had been born and had been loved by her sister as if she were her own daughter. She had left her house without saying more to either her or Alex. 

The soldier in front of her stirred on the metal bench where he was seated. The Triton was one of the lousiest transports that she had ever flown. The ride was soft when compared to the Skyranger but the inside had been built so that soldiers on underwater gear could flood it to deploy more quickly. As a result the inside showed the effects of corrosion by salt water. And the metal on the seats had dents and sharp edges all over its surface as the result of being hit by weapons and personal armor several times. They would stab and find it hard for someone in a jumpsuit to seat down comfortably. 

The gray inside simply looked and felt too worn the craft had obviously had seen a lot of service. Still, "Miss Lynn", as the pilot had called the plane before they boarded seemed to be performing nicely the thousands of miles trip from San Diego Naval Base in south California to Sixth Fleet HQ, a floating base five hundred miles off the Alaskan coastline. The pilot and "Miss Lynn" were also assigned to "Madhouse Rock", as he had called the base as she and the other soldier had presented to him his transportation papers. The nickname had gotten her worry about what she would found up there. 

Her fears had started when she had first seen the pilot, who was wearing a jumpsuit like them but it was unzipped at its front, revealing a dirty white tank top and a bulge on his belly underneath. His dark hair looked as if he hadn't combed it or even washed it for days and his long sideburns only contributed more to the messy figure. And Ensign Books had barely noticed looked at them, only to show that he couldn't care less about who was getting inside. He seemed to have done a lot of those shuttle personnel flights and he considered them to be a boring routine. 

That didn't felt good at all for Markovitch. 

The other man inside the Triton was also a recruit who was much younger than her. He had the physical built of a Marine but his face was very smooth and the guys' cropped yellow hair was thick. His name was Carl Simmons and they hadn't spoken a word between them from since the Triton had took-off from San Diego. He looked anxious, more like a kid that was going for a ride and was scared. 

As first she had thought about how such a kid would be fighting the aliens when in her time all of the soldiers had been veterans from top-notch units on the US military. But as she rumbled on her head she soon stopped as she realized that Simmons was deliberately acting as if she didn't exist. That made her even more confused and she wondered if somehow he had detected a trace of her psionic skills. 

After two hours she had decided otherwise. There was something else that made Simmons avoid her. He obviously had something against her although she had no idea of what that might be. Therefore, she decided to find out what it was. 

"Feeling anxious?" Her tone was nice as if she had been simply shy the whole time. 

Her words sent a jolt across the recruit who looked at her with a bit of fury but at the same time curiosity. He thought for a second before answering. "What do you want Yankee?"

The tone of his voice made it sound as if it was an insult. That made her confused but she stopped before giving a reply and instead asked. "Yankee?" 

The soldier looked puzzled at her answer. "Who are you trying to trick? You sure don't sound like Canadian to me". 

"I'm not. What's the problem?" 

He looked even more surprised. "What's the problem??? Where have you been for the past years? In a remote island or something?"

That actually struck Markovitch as true but she shrugged her shoulders. "Haven't paid too much attention to the news I guess". 

"Didn't know that the US was sending people so dumb up here to fight. At least in Alaska my boot camp IQ seemed higher". That made Markovitch stiffen her spine and she only replied in a warning tone. "Let's just say that I prefer to keep myself of such matters OK?" The mention to the former State had confused her again until she made sense of the soldier's hostility. One of the things that she had discovered after being revived was that Alaska had succeeded from the United States in 2026. Apparently the Alaskans had gotten tired of the over exploration of the land and seas and the huge migration towards its territory. On that year the Alaskan Congress had issued a declaration of independence and had established a People's Republic based on a mix of communism and environmentalist ideas. 

The move had caught the US government on its pants on the floor and completely unprepared to respond to it. The division on public opinion over the subject also prevented that any military action was taken to bring the state back into the Union. However, a lot of US companies had suffered badly after the new Alaskan government had nationalized all fishing and oil production interests in their territory. Tensions had also risen as both nations started to issue their claims into the Pacific Ocean. A number of armed engagements had taken place over the years with losses for both sides. While she didn't had time to think much on the subject, she also wasn't in the mood to take any crap from anyone other than the necessary in the military. 

"Yeah, I guess if you people even noticed what your multinationals are doing to you also besides wanting to bleed Alaska to death things would change". That made the exchange to start to go to the level of a heated discussion. 

"Most likely I would change…" She started as the soldier heard in amazement. "… If you explained to me what's the problem". 

For a moment the private in front of her didn't knew how or what to reply. "Well…." Caught by her, he decided to give in. "They warned us about you in boot camp see? All the Yankees that never really accepted our independence because their corporations lost big and want pay back? That if there's a line of armistice right now is because you won't recognize our right to freedom and want to take over natural resources that are rightfully ours". 

Apparently the Alaskan military liked to indoctrinate its soldiers well, Markovitch realized as the soldier kept glaring at her. She decided to drop the subject since it was coming again closer to a heated argument. "You might be right, I simply don't know. I'm here to fight aliens and that's it". She offered him her hand, hoping that he would break it off also. "I'm Anne Watkins".

He looked at her open hand but didn't make any reply. After some time she withdrew it and for the rest of the journey they stood silent towards one another. 

After more hours had passed, the pilot warned them to put on the safety belts since they were going to emerge at the base. That had made Markovitch curious because the plane was flying over water. 

A couple of minutes later her answer arrived. As the Triton slowed down his airspeed it also headed into the waters. Its immersion angle was a bit rough made the craft bounce off the surface of the sea once before they finally dove. The view ports of the Triton now showed them to be underwater and Markovitch realized that the plane wasn't an aircraft that could dive but a submarine that could fly. As the Triton swam in the Pacific waters the flight became very smooth. Then finally Books brought the ship back to the surface and she found herself to be in the middle of a sub pen. 

Technically Sixth Fleet HQ was a Class II maritime base, consisting of several floating modules that were attached together and placed into position in the middle of the largest oceans. It was anchored to the bottom of the ocean so that its position would remained fairly stable and had a crew complement that could go to two hundred personnel, divided between seabed combat teams, pilots and flight personnel and scientific and engineer specialists. 

Sixth Fleet HQ wasn't one of the biggest ones like Seventh's Fleet Indian base or even the one in the Norwegian Sea. It had only a combat platoon assigned, meaning some forty soldiers together with two Tritons and two Barracuda interceptor subs. Even the support personnel were kept to a minimum and the majority was assigned to maintaining the flying subs. Together with the necessary officers for running the base kept its population at less than a hundred. 

They also differed from the other types of facilities for a singular factor. They were completely controlled by X-Com, unlike the seaside detachments positioned at seaside bases, which were under the orders of the national commander of the facility. And being placed on the middle of highly disputed areas of the oceans made them necessary to maintain a low profile. Things in that area usually already were a number of problems before the aliens appeared. And while off the western seaboard of the US it covered an area from the Aleutians in Alaska to the Panama Channel, including the armistice line between the People's Republic and the US, close to the border between the former state and British Columbia.

When the large hatch at the side of the Triton opened she found to be in a middle of the sub pen with a metal grated platform surrounding it on every direction. A seaman in a white wetsuit threw a couple of ropes to them, which they grabbed and tied inside the sub to bring the plane close and stabilize it. 

Grabbing her bag and placing it over her shoulder she crossed the space between the sub and the platform with a jump. The clank of her boot hitting the metal grating sounded over the sub pen. Looking around as she landed, she saw a platform surrounding it and missile racks standing against the walls. There were also a lot of crates standing next to one of the airlocks that linked it to the rest of the base. Soldiers in blue jumpsuits were buzzing over them with pairs of troopers busy picking the two-meter long crates. 

The voice of the non-commissioned officer leading the squad was barking orders. At his command they started to move the crates towards the Triton. Both she and Simmons back stepped aside to let the troopers past as they started to load the sub with the full crates. At the same time they also removed the empty ones and lifted them away from the pen. Ensign Books had also left the sub and was coming by them. "What are they doing?" 

Her question made the pilot look at her with a satisfied smile. "Loading all the alien goodies. The stuff we get every time you capture one of their subs. That's how we make a living around here. The majority of this stuff is useless but there are some items that are worth a bundle of money out there". 

"Does that include the weapons retrieved from the aliens?" He shook his head. "No. And nobody would want them anyway since all of the retrieved Zrbite is sent to a vault in Switzerland".

"All? How do you use the aliens weapons then?" He laughed at her enquiry. "Use the alien weapons? Sweetie, what are you talking about? Don't expect a sonic rifle on your hands when you get to combat". 

The comment wasn't of her liking at all but a peculiar black package that a pair of soldiers was carrying made her look in attention. Both her and Simmons stood watching as a pair of full plastic body bags was carried by them to the inside where they were placed on the benches. "Meet the guys you're supposed to replace. I hope you're luckier than them". Checking Markovitch's body without even bothering to hide his interest he added. "And if you want came and see me at mess hall. I know a couple of ways we could have fun together".

Markovitch scowl told him to piss off and he wisely got back to the cabin of the Triton. She started to walk towards the Sergeant, no Petty Officer, she corrected remembering the different rank designations. He had a blue cap and stripes on his pristine wetsuit's shoulders. The NCOs face was sweaty, with a drop starting to form on the tip of his large nose and into the thin black mustache he had. He gave them a quick look before continuing with his ramp: "Morales and Teller, get yours asses moving! We aren't paid by the hour here people! Who the fuck are you?" His question surprised them both as they were about to salute him. 

"Seaman Apprentice Watk…". As he turned towards her with his eyes glazing and a hint of a smile on his lips, she realized that she had just given him what he wanted. 

"Don't give me that apprentice shit rookie! Get one thing straight from this moment on! You're nothing more that a rookie until you either survived after your fifth mission or if you managed to do something incredibly stupid twice and survived! Is that understood?"

The vehemence of his words made her stand on attention. "Sir, yes sir! I was only trying to present my….". 

"Shut up rookie! You and that other piece of shit standing there can present yourselves to the barracks and report your lousy presence to Petty Officer Wieslow, the desk officer. Now stop distracting me! Dismissed!" Simmons nearly jumped on his feet but they both saluted and hurried past him. As they left the pen a couple of enquiries to a seaman that was passing by allowed them to find their way to the barracks. 

The entrance to the Marine personnel area was nothing more than a small chamber with hatches on opposite sides. As Markovitch stepped inside another man in a khaki jumpsuit looked to her from the table where he was looking at a holovision screen that hung projected over the plastic table. She saluted him and presented his orders after saying her name. Simmons did the same afterwards. 

Taking both of them, he studied them for a minute before setting them down on the table. "Well rookies Watkins and Simmons welcome to X-Com. I'm Petty Officer O'Connor, second squad leader. That's the squad you are going to be assigned to Simmons". The recruit stiffened as O'Connor's eastern accent revealed that the NCO was from the US also. And as for you, Watkins, you will fill a hole on third squad. You probably have seen there already since they had cargo detail for the Triton". 

That made Markovitch swear in her mind since it meant that the other asshole Petty was her squad leader. But Wieslow's following briefing soon made her temporarily forget it. Each of the three squads was composed of thirteen soldiers, with a Petty in command plus three Able Seamen, the equivalent of corporals, to lead each four-man fire team. One squad would be on permanent alert the whole time, ready to deploy, another would be doing K-P stuff or providing base security while the third one was on rest and recovery on the base's few recreational areas. And even if they had only received basic underwater training they were considered full members of a combat team now. The implication of that quickly reached Markovitch: you either learned to survive or die even before you realized what happened.

After he finished his presentation Watkins gave them authorization cards to present for supplies at the base's quartermaster office. He dismissed them afterwards and went back to his visiset. 

When she finally reached the general bunk area where all of the soldiers below Sergeant slept she found a large chamber with metal walls with lights hanging overhead. There were two floors connected through a stairwell at one end of the room. The ground floor had nothing more than a collection of tables and chairs and all sorts of equipment. There were also more bunks with metal cabinets next to them and some were occupied. The area was empty so she moved upstairs.

On the upper floor there were dark plastic walls separating three divisions which where connected by a corridor, allowing each squad to have its area adjusted for light. At the end of the corridor Moving past first squad's area to her left she saw through the heavy plastic wall that it was covered in darkness. Only second and third squad's areas were lightened. 

As she finally stepped through the hole cut in the plastic wall she saw three bunks on each side of the area. A female soldier with black short hair was inside scrubbing a boot with a piece of cloth while seated on her bed. She wore an insignia on the shoulder of her jumpsuit with a white anchor that had a single small diagonal stripe on its side. She didn't look at her as she got inside but as Markovitch passed she raised her arm. "What are you doing?" 

There were three beds empty in the bunks with no indication that anyone was using them. She was heading towards the one at the end of the row and pointed at it. "Hi. Isn't that bunk empty? It sure looks like it so". 

The girl's body was lean but it showed also that it was muscled. "But that's a soldier's bunk, honey. The rookies section is over there!" She closed her hand into a fist and pointed with her thumb downstairs. 

"What? Hey I've just been assigned to this squad. You give this reception to every new arrival?" In dread she already had figured how that the answer was positive. "Complain to the Petty Mellow next time you see him, he gave the order. But that wouldn't be much wise, let me tell ya. Try to relax and don't worry, if you're lucky you will actually end up here".

_If you manage to survive. _ The consequences of not being lucky were to leave in a body bag and in that case it didn't mattered where you slept anymore, Markovitch realized. _Things are going just swell. _

**********

On another side of the base, Lieutenant Braddock had just checked that Seaman Apprentice Watkins had arrived at the base and had presented herself to her squad. He had been assigned to the naval staff of Sixth Fleet HQ not only because of her but he also wanted to ditch further dangerous combat assignments. Of course being the only Alaskan officer in the staff had its share of problems. Because the combat squads performed operations on the cease-fire Line no one wanted either a US or Alaskan officer filling high command positions on the area. Not only the area had its share of minor confrontations between forces of both countries but also both militaries seemed to look at the X-Com base with extreme suspicion. From its position on the middle of the Pacific the sonars of the base could detect any surface and underwater military deployments. And X-Com already had a bad reputation of interference in local affairs after the Brazilian Union had used their particular teams not just to fight the aliens but also to strike at Argentinean facilities and ships. Of course he now was in a position where he wouldn't have access to any operational matters, unless the Alaskan Politburo decided otherwise. 

"Your replacements have arrived like you requested, Commander Gustafson". Braddock showed some pretense of proper officer etiquette by not saying his complete rank, of a lieutenant commander. The other officer was also wearing a khaki jumpsuit like him the only difference was the pins on their lapels that showed their different ranks. Braddock had a silver anchor with a chain superimposed diagonally on it while Gustafson bore a gold anchor with a chain on its right side. The Lieutenant Commander responsible for combat operations simply nodded. "Let's hope they change your recent losses, hum?"

The Icelandic officer shifted uncomfortably but refrained from answering and got up from his desk and headed towards the corridor. Inside, Braddock smiled as he remembered the mounting debts that Combat Operations had been experiencing on the past months. Technically Gustafson was superior in rank but in really he couldn't give a single order to Braddock. The Lt. Commander had been barely able to keep the unit out of the red ink, according to the files that Braddock had seen when he had arrived to the base. The former officer in charge of General Procurement had set a scheme to milk the combat crews as much as he could, by deliberately delaying supplies and replacement parts. It had worked fairly well until he had gotten too greedy and had started to try to smuggle Zrbite into the black market. At that point the officer had caught the attention of the Inspector-General's office and had warranted him a complete demotion until Seaman rank and his assignment to a combat team. Braddock thought it was a terrible thing to happen but it had cleared the way for Braddock to get to the position where he was now.

Lt. Commander Delacroix had ordered him to keep an eye on her but otherwise keep out of her way and don't make any waves to call up unwanted attention upon himself. 

It would be easy. 

As Gustafson left the room he activated the visiscreen on his desk and called up his message box. He had already a number of enquiries being sent by the clients of the previous officer that had previously occupied his position. Although the manager of the whole scheme was now alien bait the entire operation had been left intact and it only needed someone who wasn't too greedy.

And he couldn't care less about whom seaman Watkins really was. 

September 20th, 2044

COMSTKXCOM Office, Norfolk, Virginia, US

Every time Admiral Jeanna Kole saw the COMSTKXCOM acronym stamped on the door that led into her personal office she wished that she could have the lettering erased and replaced by something simpler. It stated her official title inside the US Navy, meaning Commander, Strike, X-Com, the officer in charge of all X-Com operations and teams involving US personnel. She was the designated leader of all US X-Com forces although she took her orders from either the Chief of Naval Operations, the Admiral responsible for the Navy or from his superior up in the command ladder, such as the President or the Secretary of Defense. 

On every country and economic venture present in the Council she had a similar title, ranging from admiral to marshal or even 'executive officer for anti-alien operations' as the Africa Corporation had named her position. She had never taken any order from their military or political leaders. The only ones who had anything to say about her actions was the Council and even they would be more than satisfied with her as long as she kept the neodollars flowing from the weapons sale. And for four years they had been more than pleased with her style of running one of the most profitable enterprises in the entire world. Most of the stock exchanges were slumbering into depression with the shares listed slowly losing their values over the years. However, the small amount of shares that had been sold, as a way to rise badly needed funds before the boon of Gauss technology had more than tripled their original value. As long as X-Com kept fighting the aliens there would be more than enough money to satisfy everyone on the business.

But to her it didn't matter to whom she was supposed to report and she wasn't even American in the first place. She had no care for dealing with overzealous admirals and bickering politicians which were more interested in going for their own interests or worse, to patriotically defend their nations' interests. Usually such affairs were better left to the X-Com officers in charge of land facilities since they were of the same nationality of the countries were the facilities were based. In the Norfolk case it meant Commodore Gregory Paris, a career Navy officer that had been assigned to X-Com two years ago although he had never served aboard a ship. She was expecting him for a meeting that was scheduled to start in ten minutes and meanwhile she was getting through the paperwork so that she could have a clear idea of what the man had been up to at the base. 

Pressing a button on her desk, she called her personal secretary. "Tolk, bring me a cup of tea, please". She didn't like the Norfolk offices either, too cold and impersonal for her own taste. She preferred her own space at the Rotterdam installation back on the Netherlands or even the X-Com Headquarters in Geneva. But the construction of new research facilities to replace the ones lost at SORESO made it necessary for her to personally inspect the few bases that had been selected. She considered further research to be a pure waste of resources since they already knew everything they needed to contain the alien problem. The holovision device on her desk was glimmering with an artificial reality window containing a series of data work files that she would have to review and decide their relative importance. Her near vision was getting bad so she had a set of old fashioned glasses on her nose to help reduce the strain on her eyes. As her vision danced from one file to another, the optic sensors detected her pupil movement and magnified the contents of the files that she was selecting, most of them requests for additional research material and scientists. 

The task took her complete attention so she didn't paid attention as the door opened to allow her secretary inside. Stamping another "REFUSED" virtual signature over the document she was reading she passed to the next one. It concerned a request made by a certain Dr. Camay for additional material to research the physical disturbances of the sites the aliens were building all over the world. For a moment Koles simply sent it the same way as the other requests down the trash bin but she thought it better if Inspector Alkeviades also confirmed her opinion. AS she was typing a memo to him she noticed that Tolk had already moved by her side and was waiting. 

It took a moment for Koles to realize that the person standing next to her wasn't his personal secretary and that unlike Tolk it was wearing a dark blue combat jumpsuit instead of the white dress uniform the Ensign wore. As she started to turn towards him, Koles noticed that it was holding a tea saucer with a steaming cup on his right hand. As her chair continued with the swivel her legs had imparted on it, the tip of her nose nearly hit the muzzle of the gray Gauss pistol the figure was holding on his other hand. The inside of the stubby barrel of the weapon was black. Her nose rose until the glasses at the tip were at the level of the pistol. As she was about to demand an explanation to what was happening her eyes froze as they locked into the dark expression of the man facing her. 

"Who are…". Her voice was cut by the cracking sound of the Gauss pistol being discharged. The accelerated particle beam burned through her face and the bone underneath until they finally reached the brain tissue. The blue and white china saucer crashed into the floor and broke into a million pieces, splattering the tea all over the plastic surface. The now faceless body of Admiral Koles followed it a moment later. 

André Galvão, 2002 


	4. Canned Heat

X-Com: Abyssal

Chapter Three – Canned Heat

September 21st, 2044

Madhouse Rock, Western Pacific

_Where are you? _The question kept repeating itself on Markovitch's head as she moved down the dark and empty corridors of the alien base. Or at least that was where she thought she was as she walked down an empty corridor whose walls were made of a brown metal unlike the gray alloys that the aliens used for construction. She felt that something was strange but the thing that was worrying most her now was how to find the exit to the maze of passageways and chambers.

She was wearing her old suit, an armed carapace that had protected her endless times during the fighting on the first war. The main portion that covered her body showed streaks of what seemed to be rust and her faceplate was missing, exposing her face to a glacial coldness that made the mucus inside of her nose to freeze into solid and sent needles of pain on her cheeks. 

_Where am I?_

She knew where she was, despite the differences from what she remembered from the old alien base on Mars. But there was a drowsiness that sent a fog through her mind, making her to loose any sense of direction as she kept walking through the facility. 

_Come to me. _

As she stopped by twin sliding doors that stood in the middle of a large corridor, she started to worry about the fact that she didn't had any weapon on her. _I'm in the middle of an alien installation and the only thing I can do is to kick the aliens with my legs or punch their ugly faces with my arms. Well, at least those Ethereals were really thin and probably I can snap their necks if I can get close enough. _She was waiting for one of them to appear as she activated the doors with a movement of her arm next to an invisible panel built on the sidewall. 

The metal entrance disappeared without a sound but instead of the tall red robed figure of an Ethereal she found herself facing another soldier in a power suit. The faceplate was also gone and Markovitch wondered for a second how both of them could be breathing the deadly Martian atmosphere but she quickly forgot that thought as she recognized the soldier in front of her. 

"Camay". The woman's face was like she remembered it, without any of the wrinkles and the long white hair. Her cheeks were smooth and red and she was holding one of the medikits that the soldiers used for heal battle injuries. "Captain". The private was smiling openly to her as she continued talking. "Are you feeling better now?"

As she looked around her still in confusion she replied. "Yeah". After a moment she remembered to ask. "Where's everyone else?"

Camay looked puzzled at her question but ignored it after a second. "The Colonel sent all platoons to start boarding the Avengers and head towards the commander's position. They are still having a lot of work to clear the Pyramid from the aliens". 

_That's right, the Brain is dead but so is Erwin. _"The Colonel?" The mention of Johnson had thrown her off balance and she had to place her hand to the wall to regain her balance. Camay grabbed her other arm. "Captain, are you alright? Are you still feeling the effects of what happened upstairs?"

_Yes, the mental attack. But how come I'm walking now? _Taking a deep breath to try to clear the confusion she asked the soldier. "What happened upstairs?"

Camay looked at her in confusion and worry crossed her face. "Captain, do you know where you are? Where's the rest of the platoon? They were supposed to take you out to the _Avenger to get some rest. Have you become lost from them?" She placed the medikit over her arm and activated it, sending with both their stained power suits being illuminated by a red light. _

"I'm…OK I guess Camay. Just a bit shaky but I guess everyone would after all of this fighting". Her head started to ache but she ignored it. 

Camay kept looking at her with a glance of concern. "And not to mention the mental attack that thing tried to make on you. You were lucky that the Colonel managed to kill it before it was too late. We all thought that you were dead afterwards, including Colonel Johnson".

_Johnson. His name sent a bell down her brain. __Where are you? She tried to find him using her psionic powers but as she started to concentrate, an icy needle burst through her skull as if every brain cell was contracting with pain. "Hmmm". Her moan made Camay to hold her against the wall to stop her from falling down. _

"Jesus, Captain, we need to get you out of here. We have to check you on the Avenger because you could have suffered some sort of physical damage to your brain".

_I am here. The voice made her look upwards, towards the chamber that housed the alien Brain that was now dead. "Where's the Colonel?" She asked as she felt the entire corridor swirl and she felt more and more difficult to stand up. It seemed that her power suit had run out of Elerium because her arms and legs felt heavy and bulky to move._

"Lay down Captain". Camay's voice felt more like an order than an advice. "I'm going to sedate you and get someone to help me to bring you outside". 

Markovitch felt difficult to speak any words. "No…no….I need to see Erwin first". Her knees faltered and she dropped to the floor. A green blink on the medikit told her that something was inside her bloodstream. "Just relax now Captain and we'll take you outside. The Colonel has been injured by a plasma shot but they're already taking care of him…" Camay's voice seemed to slowly fade as she heard something else. 

_I am here. _

She looked for him in all directions down the corridor trying to find his armored figure as the voice kept speaking coming from nowhere, repeating her name. 

_Sheila. Sheila. The words blurred with the closed environment until a new awareness came to her and they became clearer. "Attention! All members of Third squad report to General Stores for immediate deployment! Attention! All…" _

The rest of the message arose Markovitch from her state of drowsiness as she stood resting on her bunk and trying to get some sleep after spending the previous eight hours cleaning the mess hall and performing weapons training with her squad. 

_A dream. _

The metal bunk squeaked as she moved her legs from underneath the warmth of the artificial fibers of her green blankets. Setting her bare feet on the cold metal grating of the floor, she looked for her combat boots as she tried to understand what was happening and doze off the dream she just had. Her neck was stiff and hurting from the position she took when she was sleeping but as she got up she felt less pain. 

This was the third time her squad had been on the alert shift on the days since her arrival but so far they hadn't deployed a single time and had spent the shift waiting for an USO to be detected. Simmons, the other rookie that had traveled with her had already deployed for action twice and had been killed yesterday. She had known because she had been helped to carry his body bag to the Triton and had noticed his name on the tag that identified it. 

"Hey Watkins, hurry up or the Petty will have your butt!" She looked to the left towards the direction of Burton, one of the other two rookies on her squad. He was on his early thirties and smaller than him but nearly of her age, with a dark hair and a bland face. Unlike her, he had already wet his feet three times, as the combat missions were referred to in base slang. That fact also made him to act like he was superior to her and Redwood, the other seaman apprentice. 

She mentally told him to go fuck himself but hurried up as movement on top of the stairs told her that the other soldiers were about to present to the armory. After she finished tying up her boots she grabbed her service cap and tagged behind the group of soldiers as they rushed out of the barracks area. As they raced down the main corridor that connected all portions of the base, Burton slowed his pace and asked her and Redwood in a mocking tone. "Nervous?"

She didn't bother to answer and kept her eyes locked on the blue diving suit of the soldier in front of her. "Well, don't get your pants wet while you're in the suit". Laughing, Burton sped up again, trying to catch the seasoned soldiers. 

When the twelve men and women reached the readiness room they found Petty Mellow and the section's NCO, Chief Petty Officer Julio Angelo already waiting there for them. As they walked inside the soldiers arranged themselves into fire teams, facing the NCO on a straight line. Unlike Mellow, who Markovitch considered to be one of the nastiest non-commissioned officers that she had seen on her career with what she called a big anal retention, Angelo was actually more pleasant. According to the talk between the enlisted the Italian had attended a catholic seminar after leaving high school and was planning to become a priest for some reason he had left his religious studies and had joined the Euro-Syndicate's amphibious brigade before volunteering for X-Com. He had been assigned to Madhouse after the base had been rebuilt following its destruction by an alien attack and although he wasn't officially a chaplain or even a priest he was more than willing to preach to the few ones that would listen to him. 

The officer standing behind them and with a face that he hadn't had much sleep looked annoyed at all of the confusion. For some reason the Lt. Commander in charge of combat operations had decided to be present at the briefing. He had a short blonde beard matching his hair color unlike the smooth shaven faces of both Mellow and Angelo. She had noticed them on the non-combat personnel and officer since they were authorized since it helped to protect their facial skin from the salty air. On the case of Mellow' short mustache he always trimmed it very short and thin, looking as if someone had grabbed a marker and drew a line right over his upper lip. Looking down her legs Markovitch remembered how hairy they were. There wasn't much of a need to shave and she wasn't here to look pretty anyways.

"All right, get the water off your ears and listen!" Mellow' thundering voice echoed on the metal walls of the equipment room. "The sonar has detected an alien Escort heading towards the continental shelf near Washington State. A Barracuda is going to wait on the surface above it in case it tries to escape but we are going to try to capture it intact. We will leave in ten minutes". Lieutenant Gustafson looked at them but he refrained from saying anything, instead choosing to rub his eyes with his hands to clear off the residues of his aborted sleep. "Any questions? No?" Looking around her Markovitch also decided that there wouldn't be any. Burton had an evil smile on his face as he looked at her and Redwood, which seemed to be having an anxiety attack. She also noticed that Marsden, the woman she had found at the squad's barracks and another trooper were talking between themselves and looking at the rookies but she couldn't understand what they were saying. 

"…God is our refuge and fortress, help always ready in the angst…". The words of psalm that Angelo was reciting made her turn her head back towards the NCOs in the front of the room. After the Chief Petty was done, Mellow stepped forward and called. "Renton and Barnby get your fire teams ready. Gutierrez, since the damn technicians managed to fix the Bugeye on time for this mission it's your turn to be left behind, but we are going to take Watkins with us to fill the last slot so you get her ready. 

The rest of her fire team's members relaxed as Mellow shouted his last orders. "As for the rest get your skins and weapons ready and report to sub pen three. Move it!"

**********

"Let's get them!" The soldier next to Markovitch's right had been cursing the aliens for more than two hours now as the Triton had undocked from Madhouse and headed for the mainland. "Let's get them man! We are going to get them!" His last name was Teller but he was more known on the squad and in the base by "Crazy T". Looking to him she saw the tattoo he had that circled his bald skull in the form of a spear that ended on his forehead with twin spikes. He looked back at her and showed Markovitch his teeth, whose canines had been sharpened and hissed at her. One of the seated soldiers started laughing but she replied the stare before the seaman in front of him called him off. "Cool out T. You don't have to eat her alive". 

Like Markovitch he had his circular helmet on his lap but on his case he wore aqua-plastic body armor usually assigned to team and squad leaders while his weapons was a gray thick Gauss rifle that rested between his legs with its butt against the metal grating of the floor. "I don't need any help". She shot back at him and he made an amused look. "He's all yours, Watkins".

She felt like he was paternalizing her at it pissed her off but as a klaxon warned the soldiers inside that they were about to submerge, she took her metal helmet from her lap. _Let's hope I don't drown inside this thing. _Breathing liquid instead of air had been an idea first proposed more than eighty years ago but it had only come to a reality on the late 1990's. By then scientists had managed to synthesize a liquid called perfluorocarbon that could supply the necessary oxygen levels for the body to survive and remove the carbon dioxide from the alveoli on the lungs. The concept had been first used on premature babies that had been born with underdeveloped lungs. The replenishal of the liquid was still performed by movement of the lungs that expelled used liquid and brought freshly oxygenated one. But it was done at a lesser rate to the lungs and without demanding so much effort on them. 

A number of navies had applied the concept to their divers. The main problem of going to depths of more than two kilometers was the pressure applied by all of the water above. Every ten meters under the water would add the equivalent of the normal atmospheric pressure. They would be diving at one hundred metes and at that depth the water's equivalent of ten normal atmospheric pressures would place an unbearable strain on the lungs since the organs were at a much lower pressure. The use of liquid prevented the diver from being crushed since it helped to bring the lungs' inner pressure to the level of the pressure felt outside the helmet. There would be still trapped air on her inner ear, which would make for a terrible migraine as they got deeper but it could be controlled using painkillers. Only when she got back on the surface would the pain disappear but the ears would still be sore and her balance would get shaky for a couple of days. She would also have to drink a couple of the fluid as the helmet filled to adjust her stomach to the content and prevent her from puking later, which would be very, very bad. The body's remaining inner hollow spaces would also be compressed, especially the bowels and stomach, giving her cramps like she was having her period afterwards. 

And it also prevented a nasty effect from sea diving using breathing devices based on air. As an aquanaut breathing air got deeper, the additional pressure necessary to compensate for the external conditions made the nitrogen present to condensate in the human tissue, something that was called nitrogen narcosis or decompression sickness. The condition could cause dread or uncertainty on an aquanaut and it required that he spent hours in a decompression chamber if he returned to the surface too fast. And if he got up too fast the gas would form bubbles on the bloodstream, something called embolization, which could lead into death. Other gases could be used to prevent the toxicity of nitrogen, like helium, but one problem remained. If the ascent were too quick the gas on the lungs would expand as the pressure diminished. The alveoli on the lungs would rupture and bring major medical problems. 

The site to where the Triton was heading was on the US continental shelf and was roughly one hundred meters deep. At that depth the X-Com squad could had used regular respiratory devices but the need for the slowly ascent afterwards made them stick to liquid breathing instead.

Although the liquid allowed aquanauts to deploy and fight at depths of up to five thousand meters, it also had its own problems. One of the first things on the short combat training she had on the US before flying to the base was to tested the liquid on one large pool. In order to placed on a combat team she had to be able to withstand the thing since allergic reactions were not uncommon. 

Although she had passed the unpleasant experience of the test, she still felt anxious about what would happen as she placed the helmet over her head and sealed it. In front of her Renton stood waiting since each opposing pair of troopers would help one another through the process. 

She activated the liquid breathing device. 

A bluish fluid started to appear under her chin and it quickly rose to her upper lip. The zip she drank tasted like toothpaste and her stomach complained but the small amount of nausea quickly vanished. When it covered her nose she let go all of the air on her lungs and the bubbles rose through her eyes. She was also using special contact lenses that would stick to her irises and allow her to see clearly in spite of the fluid that now had come to her forehead. 

A couple of seconds later her lungs started to react from the lack of oxygen. Premature babies would be under anesthesia and had their lungs filled with the liquid through the use of tubes. In the case of deep diving they were fully conscious, making it the worst part in breathing the heavily oxygenized liquid. The aquanaut would literally have to drown inside his helmet and unless he managed to control the panic and convulsions, things could go very bad. It was also the reason why it was being done before the craft got any deeper so that any problems could be solved. And also, like the lungs of aquanauts inside, the cargo section of the Triton would also be filled with seawater equivalent to the external pressure as it sunk to the bottom of the ocean so that it wouldn't place a huge stress on its hole.

She would have to force herself to breathe the liquid and expel the remaining air on her lungs. However the body's automatic response would be to cough to expel the fluid. 

When she finally couldn't hold it anymore her mouth opened and she took a deep portion of the liquid down her larynx and trachea. 

Renton's hands quickly moved to grip her shoulders hard to prevent her from taking off the helmet as her chest surged against the liquid that was coming to her lungs. As she coughed in pain, the immediate automatic action afterwards of rebreathing brought more fluid into her lungs and it felt much worse. 

It took her more than ten seconds before all of the air on her lungs had been expelled and she actually calmed down. Renton released her as she flashed him a thumbs-up. Unlike Markovitch's helmet, which had a reinforced glass view port in front of her face, his cover was completely transparent. He sealed the helmet and activated his own breathing gear. 

As she watched the inside of Teller's helmet getting filled with the fluid Markovitch noticed that she seemed to have entered a completely silent world. The few sounds that come from either the Triton or from the soldiers on the inside came to her muffled. She felt like her helmet was a pool on which she was submerged. 

That was the other problem with using the fluid for breathing. Since voice depends on the passage of air through the vocal cords, now that they all where breathing liquid they basically couldn't speak to one another. They had earphones attached to their mastoid bones but those were to allow them to hear the outside. When they deployed they would   use hand signals and other means to overcome the communications problem and depends heavily on their fireteam leaders for control and coordination. Infantry squads had used the technique for decades: each fireteam member would be on sight of his leader, and the corporal in charge would take his orders from the squad leader. The technique rather worked pretty well in cases where silence was necessary to deploy to the target area. In this case it remained to be seen how well they could coordinate and warn the others of any threat. However, for that particular aspect they all had emergency buttons placed on the forearms of their suits that would issue an audible warning to call the attention of all team members. 

When Teller's circular helmet became filled with the fluid the seaman shuttered for seconds as he inhaled the liquid. Calming down afterwards he raised a thumbs-up with his left hand. 

A low tone whistle made her look towards Petty Mellow, who was standing close to the Coelacanth Submersible Weapons System with a large yellow torpedo launcher on his hands. After seeing that all of the helmets on the squad had turned blue, meaning that they all had switched their breathing systems with no problems he pulled a lever close to the door of the Triton. A yellow light started blinking noiselessly as seawater appeared on the floor of the craft. 

Soon the controlled flooding increased to the point where it reached her waist. Her stomach was feeling a bit icy but she put it to the liquid that she had already swallowed. Occasionally the perfluorocarbon could irritate the stomach making the soldier wanting to puke it out. But if she did it while they were deployed she would die. The acid content would travel to her lungs and burn them and at those depths the soldier would most likely die before he could be given medical attention.

As the Triton kept descending the water level increased inside the plane until the entire passenger area was flooded. She had expected that there would be one pilot on the cockpit but Gutierrez had informed her that when the sub was being controlled from the base. That way the pilot wouldn't be risking his neck if something went wrong. 

The environment onboard the Triton turned into a diffuse yellow lighting inside as the sub gently descended towards its landing zone. Petty Mallow was still waiting by the SWS while the other troopers waited immobile on their blue wetsuits and holding their weapons. 

Then, all of a sudden, Markovitch felt the Triton falling and she went upwards taken by the inertia. By the time it landed softly on the sea bottom she had corrected the motion. As she looked towards the back of the craft she saw Crazy T grinning at her through the blue of his visor and with his mouth open. He raised his free hand into a fist and then made a circle with the finger. _Rock and roll. Right. _

When the side door of the Triton slid open for the tank to deploy natural light filled the inside. Activating its water jet engines, the SWS quickly cleared the door and the disturbance made by its travel pushed Markovitch to the outside as she was also moving behind the aquatic tank. The troops called it 'Bugeye' since the thing had a large glass below the main weapon mounted on the top of its body that looked like the eye of an insect. It used water jet engines built into its sides for propulsion and was controlled by an artificial intelligence housed on the computers inside. Unlike the previous automated tanks that X-Com had used on the First War it was completely independent of human control and it followed orders like any other seaman. 

When she stepped outside, in front of her eyes she suddenly came across the immensity of the sandy white seabed and the blue seascape around her. She couldn't see the Sun but its light filled the ocean, revealing a school of fish as they silently swam above her. Without thinking, she immediately started to move to the left around the Triton, trying to be as fast as she could but finding out that moving swiftly underwater was a combination of time, strength and momentum. Her suit's feet sank into the sand, making her slow and no matter how much she tried she couldn't be as fast as she wanted to clear the side of the Triton. A loud whining sound was suddenly heard, followed by a crack coming from the hull of the plane. 

Her reflexes told her the most likely direction of the alien that just taken a shot at her. But as she struggled to get to a stable position for firing one of the troopers following behind her pushed her shoulder. Turning around she saw the man waving at her to move along. _My job isn't to fire at the aliens, only to make them come out of their positions and fire at me. _Gutierrez had been quite precise on that point and made sure that she understood it.

The SWS had already moved twenty feet away from the Triton and was busy using its jet harpoon weapon to engage an alien that stood away at the distance. Remembering her orders, she turned around and moved towards the starboard side of the Triton. Since the craft's door was located on its port side tactical doctrine required that the squad secured that position unless they wanted grenades to be raining on them from that position. 

The pads on her feet felt heavy as she reached the front of the Triton and looked. In order to steady themselves against the sea bottom the soldiers had ballast attached to their feet, allowing them to stand upright against the ground. It made movement slower than simply swimming but Markovitch had been told by Braddock that it was much more easier to aim and fire her weapon that way. 

The area on the left of the craft had a number of rock formations a bit higher than her were green and red seaweed was attached with the leaves rocking to the sides at the whim of the current. She chose a large outcropping to give her some cover as she walked over the bottom of the sea, holding her jet harpoon rifle tightly on her hands. She assumed that a fireteam was moving on her tracks and ready to fire at any alien that popped out his head. With effort, she made a series of zigzags to spoil the aim of anyone that might be targeting her. A sudden crack made her look to her left to see a bubbly trail passing by the position where she had just been. The alien's shot disappeared into the depths of the ocean and as she reached the outcropping she pressed her body against it and looked for the extraterrestrial. 

A bulbous head in top of a thin body emerged from behind another smaller rock outcropping to her left. It started to target her but surprisingly it didn't shoot and instead it chose to draw the weapon it was carrying towards the group of seamen that had stopped close to the Triton. A soldier that was holding a big yellow cannon with a large muzzle fired and the shot blew apart the location of the alien, creating a wall of sand and bubbles and she heard a muffled bang. As the air ascended and the ground particles started to fall down she saw the alien's body next to the rock. 

_One down. But why didn't he shoot at me?_ As she saw one of the soldiers repeatedly pointing over her, she quickly understood. _Shit!_ _Here comes friendly fire!"_

Dropping down to her knees, the shot from the alien that had just went around the outcropping flew over the space here her chest had just been and carved itself on the rock, bursting a hole. Markovitch looked to the creature as she brought her own harpoon to bear on it.

For a moment she felt like she recognized one of the Sectoids from the previous war but the differences were soon apparent. The alien had red eyes instead of black ones and its head and body was green and covered with fins. Pressing the trigger on her weapon she fired a shot at him. 

A harpoon with a hollow steel tip left the yellow barrel of her weapon as the compressed gas reservoir on its bottom propelled it forward. In less than a second it carved itself against the chest of the alien who was thrown back, sending a shriek that was audible underwater. Markovitch expected the thing to drop down on the floor but instead it stood up after a second, making her to hardened her right index finger again and sent a three shot salvo at the Aquatoid.

As each shot rammed into the creature it was throw backwards until it finally landed dead on its back, dropping its blue bulbous weapon as it felt noiselessly. _These guys are tough! _The whole encounter had sent a burst of adrenaline on her body and her breathing increased until she forced her lungs to calm down since she could easily hyperventilate breathing the liquid.

At the distance, a human figure that had painted on the right chest of his suit two half-stripes that marked him as the fire team leader motioned her to continue. The enclosed helmet limited her vision so she turned her head around to look for another safe position where she could run for some cover. The fireteam kept moving beyond her at a formation called wedge, where the soldiers would advance in an inverted v formation, with her riding point. They had been assigned to move to the USO's location and take control of it while the other team was ordered to clean the rest of the site from any wondering aliens. This time the Triton had been programmed to land with its doors facing the opposite side of the alien craft to give some protection to the disembarking soldiers. 

Looking to her left side Markovitch spotted the Coelacanth as the machine dashed around another rock outcrop. The artificial intelligence inside had been ordered to flank the main formation and detect and engage any aliens on its way. It would also act like a spotter. In case it detected any alien in the course of the main force it would issue an electronic warning to the soldiers since its communications system didn't rely on sound like the humans. 

As Markovitch cleared the last of the rocky terrain without any signs of the aliens, she started to wonder where all of them wore. According to the briefing the USO was an escort, a small sized that looked like a tip of an arrow and was about ten meters in length. A small drop of   saliva flew downwards from her mouth and to the recycling system of her helmet as she took a look at the open sea shelf in front of her. 

The warning from the Coelacanth came a second later as the machine fired one of the high-powered focus light beams it possessed at a short figure barely visible against a mass too geometrical to be considered as natural. A short muzzled tone come to her ears to warn her of the hostile that the Coelacanth had just discovered. 

She realized that most likely none of her team was in position to take down the alien yet since they had yet to clear the closed corridors between the rock outcroppings. And that leaved her with only an action to make: stand ground and engage. 

She dropped down, with her knees sinking into the sand for a couple of inches, but as she tried to stabilize her thrusting body because of the inertia, a small whining sound was heard coming from her left. A rapid moving object crossed her line of sight, the blades of its propeller leaving a small trail of bubbles and a disturbance on the water as the torpedo swam in the direction of the craft. The projectile told her that Petty Mallow must have reached a position from where he could have fired its torpedo launcher since he was on the team that was approaching the alien craft.

It detonated close to both the USO and the alien, as a sudden blast bubble formed in front of Markovitch and carved a small crater on the ground. The sound wave of the explosion reached her position and a few seconds later the sparse pieces of floating algae shifted on the water as the shock wave it them. She got up and started advancing towards the site of the blast with her jet harpoon locked against her shoulder and ready to fire if the alien had somehow survived. 

It hadn't with its body dropped against the ground, with the abdomen of the Aquatoid ripped open by the explosion and showing red viscera from the aliens' inner organs. Her pace had brought her next to the alien craft, which stood landed against the sea bottom. Looking back to the team that had cleared the rocky terrain she recognized Petty Mallow' figure by the dark blue aqua-plastic armor that he was wearing, standing in the middle of the other figures who were standard light blue aquatic armor like her. Holding the huge torpedo launcher with only one hand, the NCO told her to stand ground by presenting her the back of his fisted hand and moving it up and down. 

Looking around to both sides of the craft, she realized that she couldn't see any alien unless it popped from either side of the ship. _These guys can see the aliens better than I. _Flicking to one side her right arm she checked the ammunition level of her rifle. The jet harpoon was nothing more than a long yellow tube with a handgrip and trigger, with the butt holding the ammunition and the firing mechanism. A small metal notch marked the position of the circular ammo clip as it rotated inside the butt, showing her how much of the harpoons she had already spent. Presently the colored red metal pin was standing on top of the rifle, telling her that the clip was still half full. The size of the jet harpoons inside made that only ten of them could be packed inside each magazine, making it extremely necessary to make constant ammo checks.

Satisfied, she then took her first look at the ship. Like the UFOs of the previous war its surface was lean without any straight angles but instead of the silver color she was used to, the craft was of a dark yellow. The left side of the craft seemed to be larger than the right one, telling her where the entrance as she waited for the rest of the team to arrive.

The soldier carrying the gas cannon reached her first and she recognized Crazy T's face grinning madly at her inside the blue breathing fluid of his helmet. Grabbing a small lever on the side of his weapon he ejected the cartridge inside, which slowly dropped to the ground as he picked another marked in a different color from his belt and reloaded his weapon. She also recognized Burton as he moved to the front of the craft while Leading Seaman Barnby and another soldier stood ten meters behind, kneeled-down and ready to blast any Aquatoid that decided to show himself. As Petty Mallow reached their position he ordered her and the soldier to move to the other end of the craft by waving the torpedo launcher on that direction. 

Step by step she carefully approached the tail of the USO with the soldier also holding a jet harpoon and ready. 

When she finally cleared the side of the craft she saw its bow. The ship had its entrance at the back, with a straight metal door three feet across. Most likely the Coelacanth had positioned itself to cover the door but she knew from her previous experience that the aliens inside could decide at any minute to come outside and check for themselves how things were going. As she slowly moved closer to the entrance the other soldier, whose name on its suit showed him to be Morales joined her, with Crazy T following them. 

A small thin vertical line in the middle of the USO's hull that was nearly invisible marked the placed where the twin sealed doors met. She positioned herself on the left one while Morales placed himself on the left and Crazy T behind them. A small touch of Morales hand on the metal surface activated the doors and suddenly the innards of the USO were exposed to them. 

The craft was cramped possessing a small corridor that led directly into the bridge with twin opposite doors connecting the hallway with two side chambers that housed the propulsion systems. The short figure of an Aquatoid was standing at the bridge, holding a blue pistol on its hand and it started to turn to face the intruders but both Markovitch and Morales fired their jet harpoons at it before it could react. 

Morales shot missed all together, with the jet harpoon ricocheting off the inside left wall as the steel tip was unable to breach the materials used by the aliens on their subs. However, she kept her finger in the trigger an extra moment, sending a three-salvo towards the alien. Two of the harpoons hit the creature while the third one missed and hit the front of the craft, with the metal projectile dropping harmlessly to the floor. But the harpoons that hit made the alien hiss before it completed its movement, with the creature' face contracting in pain. It fired its pistol at both soldiers, sending a series of sonic blasts that hit both her and Morales. 

The high-energy sonic wave hit her on the belly, giving her a twisting sensation on her loins but most of its power was deflected, as she turned sideways when the creature fired. Morales fared worse taking two shots, one on his chest and another on his left arm. The beam made his suit and the flesh underneath to literally dissolve as the sonic wave ripped apart the molecular bonds. 

Morales grabbed his limb on pain as she stead herself against the wall and fired again at the creature before it could finish the kill. A pair of harpoons traveled across the length of the rifle and latched on the thick skin of the alien's torso. It finally dropped dead on the metal floor but neither of the soldiers had time to celebrate the kill. The door close of Markovitch suddenly opened itself and another Aquatoid fired from the inside of the small chamber, hitting Morales on his helmet.  

A circular hole the size of a fist appeared on the soldier's face, dissolving his skull and the brain underneath it. As the dead figure of Morales felt down she turned her rifle to the alien but when she pressed the trigger nothing happened. 

_Damn! Out of ammo! _Her left hand reached frantically for her belt for the extra clips that she had stored there but she knew that there wasn't going to be enough time. But before the alien could discharge its huge sonic weapon the swishing sound of a gas-propelled bullet raced by her and burst its chest apart. 

As Morales had fallen Crazy T had immediately taken his place and now was busy firing another shot from his large caliber cannon at the creature's head although its ripped chest showed it to be dead. 

Finally snapping another clip in the chamber of the jet harpoon she checked the opposite room but found it empty of any aliens and housing only a large rectangular box that she supposed to be one of the ships' engines. 

A few moments later they saw Petty Mallow waving at them the all-clear signal, telling them that the area had been cleared of aliens. _Finally. _She had had her share of close encounters for today with the Aquatoids and she considered herself lucky that the last alien wasn't standing on the room opposite her. As Crazy T saw the sign he raised his cannon above his helmet with only one arm and started waving the weapon while his mouth stood open as if he was screaming but no sound could be heard. _Definitely missing a few screws on his head but as long as he don't get me into risk I can live with this. _

As Markovitch stepped outside she saw that the innards of the Aquatoid had attracted a number of small fish that were busily nicking pieces of meat. Apparently they had no problem in eating alien flesh but for Markovitch the thought was disgusting. The other team had already cleared the rest of the site from any aliens and was now moving at the distance moving back to the Triton. She only could three figures moving though and one was busily dragging a fallen figure by its arms, with the dead soldier's feet floating over the bottom of the ocean. _Morales and another one. I wonder who was it that didn't made it also. _

**********

As she stepped out of the shower Markovitch wondered how much more she would have to spit before getting rid of the toothpaste taste on her mouth and throat. When she exhaled it seemed that she felt the same freshly sensation that moved up her nose and even bothered her nostrils. Her legs felt better from the additional effort that had been required to walk on the sandy bottom but the hot water had helped to relax them a bit. 

Redwood had been the one lost on the other team. She had barely known him or Morales, the other soldier who had died while clearing the USO of aliens. But the operation had been a success with a complete craft recovered a small stash of alien equipment and bodies. One thing that made her wonder though was the face of the commander Gustafson when he had been at the deck when the Triton anchored back at Madhouse. His cold face had a small grin on it as he inspected the first contents of the bounty.  

The teams on her squad that had participated on the mission were now in rest and recovery status while the remaining members being assigned to help out on the recovery operations. After she was done she would get a large meal at the mess hall and head back for the barracks for a good hours of sleep until next day. When she finished tucking her towel she moved out of the showers area and into the dressing room. She found Marsden there with a bag standing by one of the lockers as the other soldier was removing her boots seated on one of the large benches. She looked at Markovitch and said nothing, continuing to wrest with the ties. 

Ignoring her also, Markovitch moved to her locker and started to dress, grabbing underwear and a pair of dark blue shorts. 

A voice made both of them to look towards the door. "Hey Marsden, are you there?" The other soldier didn't bother to reply. "Come on Marsden, I know you must be inside! Just to remind you of the money you own me. Better luck on your rookie pick next time". The laughter of the trooper trailed off as he moved away from the woman's showers. 

Hastily putting a white tank top, Markovitch turned to the other soldier and asked. "What's this all about?!" Marsden looked at her with a touch of frustration and replied as she finally took off one of her boots. "He bet that Redwood would buy his six feet under on this mission. I thought that you weren't coming back also". 

On the side of her hips her hands tightened into fists. "You were running bets on my life?! On Redwood's life?!" She had been assigned into carrying the unfortunate rookie's body back to the morgue where it would wait until the next Triton shuttle flight flew it back to dry land. Marsden had finally managed to remove her other boot before turning to her smiling. If Marsden had noticed her aggressive posture she didn't made any reaction to it as   she casually dismissed it with a wave of a hand. "Honey, everyone here does that before a mission. Even I have bet against Petty Mellow a number of times and he knows about it. This is all just a game". 

The casual tone used by Marsden on her last sentence snapped something inside Markovitch. Before the other woman could react she grabbed the front of her blue jumpsuit and pushed her against one of the lockers, with Marsden cringing as her back hit the metal door. "Now hear this straight!" She started as Marsden tried to kick her away with her boots but she had already moved sideways to avoid them. "You talk about that shit anymore next to me and you can be sure that next time you collect your bets on the base medical bay!"

Releasing her, she stepped backwards as Marsden gathered her balance and raised her fists in anger and growled. "Just who do you think you are bitch?" 

Narrowing her eyes, Markovitch slowly replied as she imitated the other seaman's fighting stance. "You don't want to try me Marsden". Her warning was wrapped around her words like a python gripping its victim before crushing it. The tone made the smaller woman to open her eyes in fear and she took a step backwards and dropped her arms. 

Giving her a last look, Markovitch moved away towards her locker but keeping a watch on Marsden who barked a laugh. "Are you one of those idealists Watkins? Do you think that will save your rookie skin down here? Well, let me tell you: you're already dead!" Memories of Cydonia crossed Markovitch's mind as she heard those words. "And pretty soon someone is just going to show it to you!"

Looking back at Marsden she wanted to give her a reply but the other woman grabbed her things and shoved them into a duffel bag, before leaving the shower area in bare feet. _Not yet. _

September 22nd, 2044

Atlanta, Georgia, US

The weather was turning bad again, leaving grim prospects for the yacht sailing short trip that Williams was planning to make over the weekend. He had expected for some warmer and calmer conditions since the beginning of the week but things had taken a chance for sure. 

For him the same could be said about the effects of what had just happened two days ago at Norfolk. 

The murder of Admiral Koles had completely made him to change his strategy regarding the council and the entire war since he had foreseen the removal of the X-Com commander. But in a much more pacific and lean way that was still many months to come. As he looked again at Delacroix who had declined his offer of a chair to sit down he knew that things had definitely taken a twist too soon. And the officer's unwillingness to sit down told him that he could only be expecting more bad news to come, since it meant that he was waiting to discuss some serious business with him. He was even wearing his X-Com dress uniform, a dark blue coated with color equal matching trousers and service cap. His collars had the pins of a lieutenant commander, with a gold anchor and a single chain of rings on the left side of the anchor. Williams had definitely preferred that the man hadn't chose to come to his office on military dressing since it stressed out even more the crisis that was still looming over their heads. 

"I've just been in contact with the Council. Most surprisingly they agreed to leave Paris in control of operations with a replacement for Koles can be found later. I can just imagine that he moved quickly after the admiral's death but for now it's too premature to say if the Council will allow him to keep the job. And in some cases the objections I've heard were about the mysterious circumstances' regarding Admiral Koles' death".

Williams was slightly disappointed when he saw that Delacroix's reaction to his words was simply a nod. He had hoped that his questions could start to be answered at Delacroix's first reaction but he taken it as if he was expecting it. There was something strange about the murder of Koles at Norfolk but he couldn't tell what it was and he was hoping that the officer could shed some more light on the matter. "Commander, what exactly happened there?"

Delacroix's face turned hard for a second and his tone showed a hint of puzzlement at the nature of his question. "Sir, haven't you seen the report?"

Now Williams was starting to get upset. "I have and I must say that it's a pretty well written report with a most detailed description of what you saw on her office. Which is hardly surprising, if one considers your previous training as a police officer. I've also seen the visipics taken during the investigation but I want to hear from you what happened". 

The lines on the officer's forehead became more accentuated as he started to speak. "Around ten-hundred and five I was passing through the admiral's door on my way to the tactical center when I heard what seemed the sound of a Gauss weapon being discharged inside. After the 'Killer' incidents we have seen I immediately called base security and moved inside to investigate. 

Once I was on the antechamber that led into the admiral's office I found that her personal secretary was laying on his desk. When I moved closer to examine I found that he had been shot in the head at a close range. Then I heard the same sound again coming from the admiral's inner office. I immediately burst through the door with my own sidearm ready and found a man wearing a jumpsuit and bearing a Gauss pistol on his hand. The murderer was still close to the body of the admiral and he seemed surprised to see me there. But before he could react I fired and took him down with my weapon. Commodore Paris arrived a minute later and the security detail soon afterwards". 

"What was Paris doing there?" Williams took great care to put a neutral tone to his words. "Was he also passing by?"

If Delacroix took offense he didn't showed it. "He mentioned that he had a meeting scheduled with the admiral at ten-hundred but he was running a little late".

The councilman thought about it for a second. "How lucky or convenient for him. If he was there, most likely the assassin would have killed him also". 

"Sir, I can't say that you're not correct but if you have any suspicions about either him or me it's better if you let me know now". Williams examined the officer from bottom to top. Delacroix wasn't wearing his X-Com uniform but instead had chosen a blue suit that resembled his officer clothing. Apparently he must have been too busy in the past days for even shaving since a thick black beard covered most of his face. 

"We'll get back to that in a moment Commander. How come you were carrying a weapon at that moment?"

"Sir, I always carry a handgun with me at all times, even when I'm at the base. It's an old habit I have that has saved my neck in a few occasions". 

"Are you carrying one now?" Delacroix simply unbuttoned his jacket, revealing a small holster on his belt.

Williams was surprised since he thought no one could enter Cyberweb armed but at the same time he realized that he didn't knew a number of things about Delacroix after all the time he had known him. "How did you pass that through security?!" Delacroix composed himself and replied. "Security on this building is very good but not perfect". The answer didn't completely satisfy Williams but he decided that it would be better if he just allowed Delacroix to carry a weapon inside and also have him brief his company's security. It would be better if he knew with what he could count on than simply prohibiting the officer and risk being surprised. But it also meant that he needed to understand better Paris and Delacroix's role on this whole matter. 

"Tell me something Commander. Would you be capable of killing Admiral Koles if you thought it was necessary?" The officer looked at Williams straight in the eyes. "Yes. The old hag surely deserved what happened to her. And most of the other officers surely believed this also, either because they resented her decisions". 

The answer didn't surprise the older man, who simply nodded. "And do you think Commodore Paris ordered the killing?"

The officer's reply was laconic. "No, he didn't". 

Now Williams leaned forward since that was something that he quite disagreed upon. "Why are you so sure?"

"He'd be incredibly stupid or simply brilliant if he had done so sir. No matter how much Koles was hated, her murder was not something to be done lightly. The commodore was the one that would most likely benefit from such a move. He is a plausible suspect since he has a motive and the means to make it happen. However, why did he choose to simply jump on her inside one of the most heavily guarded facilities on the entire US? He could simply arrange for an accident while she was onboard one of the Tritons".

"You said that he had a motive and the means. That includes both of us also commander. And you were the one who found the assassin". The hidden implication on Williams' words was not lost to Delacroix who raised an eyebrow at his words but stood immobile in front of his desk. 

"In that case sir, you surely aren't the one who gave the order because I've known you for too long. And as far as this concerns me, if I'm not worthy of your trust anymore then please let me know now and report this matter to the Council right away". As he finished speaking he moved his arm and pulled his weapon out of his belt and placed it on Williams' mahogany desk with the metal butt facing him. 

Scratching his chin for a moment, Williams studied it and the man in front of him. He had never been into this position with Delacroix before. "Please retrieve your weapon commander and I apologize if I insulted you in any matter. I'm simply having a problem to accept all that have happened and I needed to clear my head from any suspicions I had about the way you became involved in this matter". 

The cold stone face of the officer grimaced for a moment in relief with his eyes closing and the lips stretching backwards. "I completely agree sir and I wasn't expecting anything less than you". At Williams grin he paused and continued in a skeptical tone. "However, I fear that the whole matter of the Admiral's death won't be completely settled for the time being. The investigation seems to have arrived at a dead end".

"Let's get back to that then. Any progress in determining who the man was and how he infiltrated the force?"

"We still don't know sir. So far the petty officer had never displayed any signs of having a grudge against the admiral. On that day he had had breakfast at the mess hall and his squad was going through an R&R shift. A number of witness saw him heading for a corridor which lead into the area where the Admiral's office is located but no one saw him after that. Which it isn't surprising since only a number of officers regularly pass by through that area.  A further check into his personal belonging didn't show any clues of exterior help on the assassination besides the fact that he was involved into small arms trafficking and a number of other illicit business. But when we traced the Gauss pistol that he used we found that it didn't helped us either. It belonged to a batch of weaponry that had been sold to the US Navy but the crate that contained the pistol was apparently stolen from a weapons depot". 

"Tell me something. Could he be the 'Killer'?"

"No. In one of the attacks he was performing a combat mission. Either there are more people involved on the assassinations and in that case he could well be a part of a conspiracy against X-Com or he simply had unknown motives to kill the admiral". 

Considering it for a second Williams felt puzzled. "I still don't understand how someone could be as stupid to walk inside Koles' office and simply shoot her in the head without considering that he might get caught". 

Twitching his lips, Delacroix looked behind Williams before replying. "Either he was simply a sleeper agent with a suicide mission or we don't know. There are a lot of far-fetched motives for what he did, including…" The officer scowled at the word. "That he was under an exterior mental influence".

"It would be the first time in twenty years from the last reported incident of that nature. Still, it would be unwise to put it away since he's dead now and there's no way to examine his brain activity to detect any signs of possible manipulation". Williams felt hopelessness as he looked over the room. "The only ones that I can imagine pulling off such an attack are the 'usual suspects' but it wouldn't make no sense at all".

Delacroix stiffened. "If the Cult has decided to get back into business there will be hell to pay". Even Williams felt uncomfortable at the officer's words, although he knew that the former Inquisitor had plenty of motives into hating them. "And I'll make sure that they pay back every dime". 

"They'd be incredibly stupid if they had ordered it so since they would be risking a full war with X-Com. Still I've had my share of people doing idiotic things. In any case we'll cross that bridge only if we find that there's no other alternative. But for the moment we need to check all possibilities".

"Most likely Paris will keep me out of the investigation since I was involved but I can check for some things on my own". 

"Do it. And keep me informed". Delacroix nodded in grim determination and Williams expected for the officer to salute him as necessary before he left. Instead he stood in the same position. "There's one last thing to report sir. Lieutenant Braddock has informed me that yesterday lieutenant Markovitch has survived her first combat mission. And she even managed to kill a couple of Aquatoids on the process. It seems that you might be right about her, sir".

The report made Williams to feel satisfied and relieved at the same time. At least not everything was going completely unpredictable. Looking again at the weather outside he considered that there might be one or two things about it also. He and Candy and Sugar all wanted to get some sun in a little sail trip. It seemed that he would just have to spend the entire weekend all locked up in the boat's cabin with them. Which wasn't actually such a bad idea with the irony making him smile.

André Galvão, 2002 


	5. Angel of Death

X-Com: Abyssal

Chapter Four – Angel of Death

_"Sirius, Cult of_

The sect known as the Cult of Sirius most likely traces its origins back to the middle of the First Alien War, as several groups started to hail either the Sectoid Hierarchy or the Starspawn or both as the saviors of mankind. In the aftermath of the mission to Cydonia that brought Earth's victory, these groups quickly disappeared out of open sight as all information regarding the aliens and their intentions were revealed to the public. However it now seems clear that they remained active, although they tried to conceal their activities as much as possible during that period. 

The formation of the Cult and other similar, but much smaller sects, is nothing more than the reappearance of a basic characteristic present on the human psyche and culture. Since the spark of intelligence started to gleam inside the brains of our ancestors, the Homo sapiens species always had a fascination with the skies. From the first civilizations to nowadays the skies and space have been associated to be the home of the gods. It's not clear why the Cult chose to name itself after one of the closer stars to Earth and not to Zeta Reticuli, which is supposedly the Sectoids home. However the star Sirius was the heavenly body chosen by the ancient Egyptians to represent one of the major figures on their mythology: Horus, the man-falcon that brings justice. Taking into regard the similarities between the pyramids on the Gizeh plateau on Egypt and the pyramidal structures found on the alien base at Mars it's likely that the Cult's choice of Sirius wasn't random but instead a way to vindicate their claims using human History.

The Cult only started to move into the open in 2027, with the opening of the Church of the Starspawn in Atlanta. Although there was a public reaction against them in the form of public rallies and media outcries, the sect's membership quickly swelled and their missionary spirit expanded their presence throughout the planet. 

One reason pointed for this phenomenon was the general breakdown of society and massive public discredit on the world's governments in the 20's and 30's as Earth's problems worsened. Today this opinion still persists, that mankind saved itself from the alien menace on the first war to only find itself threatened by its own follies and errors. 

_The Cult's leadership has been most able to take full advantage of that idea, allowing it to expand its activities. One of the most notorious actions it undertook was probably the launch of the deep-space probes in the 2030s aimed into contacting the aliens and asking for them to come back and help solving Earth's problems. Mankind is unworthy, the Cult proclaims and only the Sectoid Hierarchy can bring us salvation". _

- X-Com's UFOPedia

September 29th, 2044

Church of the Starspawn, Moscow, Eurasia

Every time Brother Xhin stepped into the cathedral that served as the Cult of Sirius main worshipping center in the territory of the former Russian Federation and the countries nearby it he couldn't stop to feel awe at the building. The once Christian temple had been built centuries ago and had suffered decades of neglect when the Soviet authorities had taken control of the building in the twentieth century. After the fall of the Soviet Union the Orthodox Catholic Church didn't had resources to buy it from the Russian authorities and it had remained in an abandoned state. Seven years ago the Cult had bought it at a hefty price from the Eurasian state in spite of the opposition thrown at the deal by the Orthodox Patriarch. However the general public support given to the followers of Sirius and the doubling of the original offer had quickly convinced the authorities to accept the deal. 

As Xhin walked on the marble floor he looked in admiration at the fine sculptured ceiling, which stood suspended on carved arches. The old Christian altar had been replaced by a representation of the Starspawn, with a ten-foot Sectoid statue carved in gray marble towering over the now empty gathering area. Smaller chapels surrounded the central nave, each one displaying alien relics that had been gathered over the years. During the days when the cathedral was open, the followers would gather by those alcoves and worship the last remains of God's appearance on Earth. Now they were empty since the building had been closed for the meeting of the synod that ruled Cult of Sirius. The sect had taken its name from one of the stars closest to Earth and it reminded its followers of how close they were to the aliens. 

A figure also dressed like Xhin stepped close to him as he stood admiring the restored frescoes displaying images of Sectoids landing on Earth with their UFOs and greeting humans. Xhin smiled at the man, which was taller than him and larger, with the gray tunic failing to hide the obvious fat of his belly. Xhin had been born in central Asia and his skin tone was dark and his eyes slightly slanted, making his appearance similar to the Sectoids. The other man had a bland and red face and light eyes and he acknowledged him with a warm expression. "Brother Vassilev, might you be touched by the Starspawn". 

"Thank you brother Xhin. I welcome you to this humble temple". 

"It's always a pleasure to return here, brother". _And indeed it is. _

"I heard you just come from Australasia. How are our brothers and sisters faring there?"

"So far the situation has been peaceful after they decided to leave X-Com. Our churches are on high alert but I'm confident that they will not be disturbed". 

"Very good". His voice showed satisfaction and after he suddenly opened his eyes but Xhin sensed that it wasn't because of any threat. "Have you heard of our latest acquisition brother?" Hiss voice showed excitement and Xhin looked at the chapels trying to see if there was any change from the last time he had been here. Failing to found one, he looked back to Vassilev, who smiled and led him through the side corridor that gave access to the alcoves. It was only when the reached the last one that Xhin realized that he couldn't see it because of its hidden location. 

The exterior of the cryogenic chamber had been covered by alien writing but in the front a reinforced glass wall revealed what was contained inside the machine. A Sectoid stood elevated three feet from the floor with his eyelids open, revealing the black eyes. As Xhin contemplated the small thin figure he wondered if it was still alive and frozen. However he quickly noticed that its skin showed signs at the abdomen and legs that someone had sewn and repaired it for aesthetic reasons. "We recovered it from the vicinity of a vessel that crashed in the Siberian tundra. The infidels took it away but He was found frozen under a layer of ice by a prospecting team last week. He probably was injured by the crash and walked away from the vessel before dying and being covered by falling snow. We were lucky one of our followers was present when they made the discovery". 

"Impressive. If only He could be still alive". Pity crossed Vassilev' face as he heard Xhin's regret. "If we hadn't lost the secrets of duplicating life of the Starspawn we could use His tissue to grow another being". 

"Still, you have recovered a treasure Vassilev. With the dedication I've seen at this church and in other parts of the country it's no wonder how you've managed to swell our numbers by the millions here".

"The Elerium fire will clean us all. We are the keepers. The Starspawn will return". Xhin recognized the quote but it made him to swift uneasily because it reminded him of the matters he was here to discuss with the rest of the synod. 

"You are troubled brother". Vassilev didn't possess psi abilities like Xhin had but underneath his fat image Xhin knew that he had an extremely acute perception. "I'm still not comfortable with the matters that will brought upon the synod to decide. We have been either postponing this for too long". 

"The 'soiled' issue". Xhin nodded to Vassilev. When the existence of the aquatic aliens had been confirmed, the Cult's official position had been of considering them 'soiled' by the influence that Earth and mankind had exerted upon them for decades. They were not considered to be a part of the Starspawn but instead had been deemed as false gods since they had also failed to reply to any of the Cult's attempts to establish communication with them. As the fighting dragged through the years they had presented the aliens from the original contact to be the true saviors of Earth and attributed the present war to the fact that the aquatic aliens had been influenced by man's destructive behavior. Even the present situation at Australasia had shown them that. The local government had signed a peace treaty with the aliens and the Cult's leadership had been caught completely by surprise. Those infiltration missions had been reported on the Refusal, which was the term used by the Cult to name the first conflict between the aliens and Earth. But so far the aliens had refrained to infiltrate any of Earth's governments until now. Even X-Com had been caught completely unaware by the move.

"If the rumors concerning the 'soiled' are true then we need to re-evaluate our position". One of the most disturbing things that the Cult's leadership had heard was the possibility that the molecular network the aliens were implanting all over the seas could be used to contact the Starspawn. If they were confirmed true, then the synod would have to perform a drastic change of policy concerning the aquatic aliens. But Xhin also smiled for he had started to take steps towards that matter the moment he had heard about the possibility.

Apparently Vassilev missed his inner satisfaction for he simply spoke. "I've always been of the impression that we shouldn't maintain a neutral stance. The reactivation of X-Com has been an insult to the Starspawn and mankind and the ones responsible should be punished like the heretics were when they challenged us. X-Com is an aberration and it represents the worse of mankind. You also know that a number of the heretics took refuge there". 

"Brother, we shouldn't get ourselves directly involved into this. We have worked very hard to achieve all of this". He opened his arms to the majesty of the chamber were they were speaking. I agree that X-Com is an abomination, but since we have no contact with the 'soiled' we need to use them to get as much information as we need".

"Use X-Com for what?" Xhin's suggestion made Vassilev nearly recoil as he took off his arms from his tunic. 

"Think about brother Vassilev. These new aliens have refused all of our attempts of communication. The few bits of information we are receiving about their intentions or origins are coming from reports of our personnel infiltrated into official agencies. And despite all of our spiritual and temporal power we can't afford to be caught acting in collusion with the 'soiled'. There is already enough dissent on our ranks and we must keep ourselves united for the day of the second coming. X-Com might be weak and hardly a threat with their leaders nothing more than a group of money hungry officers and the majority of the soldiers mercenaries. But they are the ones who can clearly see what is the intentions of the 'soiled'. And there's growing interest on what might be the purpose of the sites that they are activating. We need to know what are their conclusions". 

Vassilev still shook his head. "That won't be easy brother. The assassination of their leader has made security tighter. I can agree that we're better off the public light and presenting our message of peace but it will be hard to use X-Com to advance the calling of the Starspawn. I fear that we might be contradicting our faith, our nature".

The slight change on the man's feelings told Xhin that he now was ready to listen to the proposal he had planned on the past weeks. The defection of Australasia and Vassilev's unique position had presented the Cult with a unique opportunity if the rest of the synod could agree to his plan. Looking at the Sectoid figure towering above them, he muttered a prayer of appreciation before revealing his ideas to Vassilev. 

_We are the keepers. Xhin smiled to himself as he remembered the beginning of that particular mantra. And although Vassilev didn't share his psionic powers he could tell that he would see the wisdom of his ideas and start thinking about the possibilities they opened for exploitation. And he also lacked something else that Xhin had learned by himself regarding the gifted with the sight of psi: they possessed a special lingering for power, a certain urge to control at any costs. Psionics, like power was a drug, something that had to be carefully dosed and used only when strictly necessary if possible. And the reports made by X-Com of soldiers dying of mental stress during the use of Psionics also made a point regarding its dangers. That never ending need to control also gave him another advantage over Vassilev: the other brother would have more trouble foreseeing when his own ambition would prove too great, unlike him. _We are the keepers of the keepers. _He added mentally. _

September 30th, 2044

North Pacific

"Hey Watkins, I heard they've given you pretty good odds for this one". Markovitch paused as her arms were already bringing up her helmet to her head and looked at Renton, who gave her a devilish smile and a wink. Word of her confrontation with Marsden in the shower area had already spread around the base, and most likely someone who was passing by the door had overheard it.

Her mouth moved to form the words to shot back at the verbal jab from the leading seaman, but her own team leader nudged her with his armored elbow in a gesture to remind her that the Triton's automated control system was about to initiate the descent. Of the three leading seamen that assisted Petty Mellow on command of the squad Gutierrez was the quietest one, a short and stocky Cuban that had spend most of his youth on the streets of a slum on the outskirts of old Miami before he had gotten his girlfriend pregnant and joined X-Com to get a steady income to pay for the expenses. He didn't talk much either underwater or above it he was extremely pragmatic about running the team. 

His elbow made her to accidentally gaze upon Marsden, who was seated one seat to the left across Renton and was about to place her own helmet. Both women glanced at one another before the black-haired woman turned forwards as Renton kept his diatribe. "Maybe we should start taking odds between both of you and see who manages to get out of this first". Markovitch saw Marsden's eyes flash with anger for a second at the comment from her own team leader but Gutierrez's voice was finally heard. "If you want to drown, fine with me". 

"Hey Luis, maybe she was the one who placed a lot of money on her death. After all it's her fourth mission. Most rookies who survived never get past this point and she's only trying to make sure that her coffin is comfy". The newcomer's voice was of Seaman Kern, who along with Fowler composed the rest of her team and was seated in front of Gutierrez, holding a dim yellow gas cannon between his legs. His remarks were sometimes nearly unbearable and arrogant. Moreover his cynicism about the whole war and X-Com in general didn't give Markovitch a favorable impression of him although most soldiers simply ignored him and didn't take seriously at all. "We are going to drop into the 'Trench', one way ticket to us all to the pits of hell. Like Crazy T would say: yuppie!"

Some of the other soldiers onboard the Triton that hadn't also placed their helmets yet either rolled their eyes at Kern's comment or cursed but Markovitch's own helmet was already placed and she couldn't hear them. 'The Trench' was the reference to the underwater canyon that ran alongside the Alaskan coastline, towards the Aleutian Islands on its way to Japan and it reached a depth of more than fifteen thousand feet in some locations. It was actually the fault line that separated the Asian and Pacific tectonic plates and it was highly volcanically active with the area close to Japan being called the "Ring of Fire" due to the number of volcanoes existent there.  

But she wasn't interested in such details since she was thinking of both Renton and Marsden. Both had just flooded their helmets and were standing in front of one another with their weapons clutched on their laps, with Renton holding one of the gray gauss rifles while Marsden had been assigned a yellow gas cannon. Somehow she could tell that there was something going on in between both that went besides differences in personality but she couldn't tell what. But the Triton suddenly dropped and the light for deployment turned itself on, forcing her to forget about such thoughts for the matter. 

On the bottom, the troopers couldn't see the immense walls that surrounded the trench and climbed straight up until the continental sea shelf since the whole area was surrounded in a sea of darkness. Below the thick high pressure waters white sands rested flat against Earth's crust in one of the places of the planet closest to the liquid rock that formed the mantle. However, despite the proximity to the lava the entire area was extremely cold and the few marine life present had to adjust to an environment where the high pressure would crush any exposed human.  

When Markovitch stepped out of the Triton her padded feet didn't raise much sand as it set upon the small ripples that sea currents had carved on the ground. 'Bugeye' had already moved and was using searchlights to guide the troops to the USO as it moved towards the landed alien craft. As she stepped outside more troopers followed right behind her. The ten men squad would advance in a column formation until the USO with the SWP acting as the point soldier. They had no idea of the location of the craft so they would conduct a sweep of the entire area with Renton's team following her own while Petty Mallow and Burton stood between the teams. 

The blue shape of Gutierrez's aqua-plastic armor stood against the yellow back of 'Bugeye' as Markovitch eyes turned towards the left. The NCO was guiding the underwater tank while she and Kern covered the right flank while Fowler kept a watch on the left with his hydro jet cannon. They were keeping roughly a thirty feet distance between every trooper to that a grenade tossed by the aliens wouldn't get two fish with the same stone. 

Every fifty feet one of the soldiers in the flanks would activate a chemical flare and throw it to give some light to the landscape. The flares worked like the grenades riding on her shoulders: a pin placed near the bottom of the grenade would activate an adjustable timer and would open a small compressed gas chamber. Since it was nearly impossible to throw objects underwater the gas jet would propel the explosive like the rounds on Marsden' gas cannon, with the difference that the only way to point it was the soldier's hand and his brain. The grenade gas jet would work a maximum of five seconds before shutting off. At that point the weight of the explosive and Earth's gravity would make the cap to point down and the chamber would throw a final burst of gas to send the grenade towards the surface. The trick was that the trooper would have to make a quick mental calculation of the angle that was necessary for the grenade to reach its intended location. A low angle quick release of the grenade would carry it the most distance while holding the grenade a while longer with a high angle allowed it to be thrown over obstacles. Unfortunately the strength of the gas jet made it that most soldiers found it difficult to hold the grenade for enough time after it was activated so that it would take its intended route. A weak grip on the grenade most likely would meant that it would be improperly released and would either overshot its intended landing zone or worse, fly straight upwards and land near the unskillful soldier. 

But in the case of the chemical flares there wasn't a danger that they would explode. Grabbing another from its belt a strong green light suddenly turned itself on as Markovitch activated it with the glow showing as yellow in the pink atmosphere of her helmet. The cylindrical object flew on the water to the front and right of her, before it finally landed on the sand and immediately attracting the attention of an abyssal fish with large fins and a transparent body which starting swimming towards it. Looking backwards she saw the blue turned to gray figures of the six other aquanauts that were following her team. The corridor of flares that they were deploying would sure get the attention of every alien on the portion of the trench were they had landed but since they were only facing a small alien survey ship it had a minimal alien crew. Previous encounters of the craft had revealed it to only carry four to six aliens in a small vessel that was twenty feet in length, again in an arrow configuration like the Escorts she had taken before. 

_Sounds a lot easier than the last two ones, doesn't it?_ She was pace counting the steps that they had taken to calculate the distance covered between the squad and the Triton, which now was barely visible at the back. _How wide is this trench anyway? _Only the NCOs had an idea of the location of the alien craft on the underwater canyon. She knew that the Triton had landed close to one of the trench's rock walls although she hadn't seen it because of the darkness. When the form of Gutierrez turned towards her she rose her free hand and showed her index finger, followed by the back of her fist._ One hundred yards already. You'd better know where you are leading us. _

The dry suit she and most of the squad were wearing had a thick insulation layer to protect them from the coldness of the waters and the liquid she was breathing was also warmed to keep them from going into hypothermia. But even then she was constantly flexing her fingers to that they wouldn't go numb due to the glacial temperatures. It reminded her of the conditions on Mars, although there the X-Com soldiers were packed into nicely warmed power suits and the planet's low gravity made it much easier to fight than in the bottom of the ocean where even a single step would be stressful due to the pressure of billions of tons of water above them. 

'Bugeye' was keeping a steady pace, digging into the sand with its tracks and leaving a paired trace as it continued its scouting mission. Until all the troopers suddenly heard a high-frequency sound on the seascape, with its echo being reflected by the Trench's walls a moment later.

Scanning with her eyes for the direction of the sniper, Markovitch found it impossible to see the alien that had just resumed its weapon fire at Coelacanth and had scored another hit. The tank had stopped and was trying to determine the location of the alien with its searchlights while the troopers in the squad that possessed heavy weapons had started to fire indiscriminately to the flanks with explosive ammunition. But the black waters kept the alien hidden from the sight of the humans, showing only brief glimpses as the high-explosive shells detonated against the sand or simply disappeared on the depths of the canyon. 

Crouching down and looking at the tank to see the direction to which it was pointing Markovitch saw bubbles of a dark liquid flowing out from its main body. The Coelacanth had turned to her opposite side with Gutierrez taken refuge behind the SWS while Fowler had switched the ammunition on his hydro jet cannon into phosphorous rounds and was starting to light up the entire area as the high inflammable material on the shells dispersed and ignited. 

Suddenly a black humanoid shape revealed itself over fifty yards away from the squad. It had thick arms and legs, reminding Markovitch of the Mutons she had faced on the previous war but it was shorter than that particular species of aliens. The outline of its head at the distance made it appear that like her it was also wearing some sort of helmet but what caught her attention was the weapon that was carrying on its hand as kept constantly firing it. 

A cranking sound followed by the bubbling noise of an air release marked the demise of 'Bugeye' as the alien finally managed to kill the aquatic tank. The reinforced plastic of the SWS's sensor pod shattered into a million pieces as the sonic beam penetrated the hull and broke down the molecular connections of the circuits inside. But Markovitch only heard the sound as the searchlights immediately went off, obscuring the wreckage of 'Bugeye' and Gutierrez into darkness. 

The alien was visible and apparently trying to put out the pieces of phosphorous that had became attached to its body with one of its limbs. Pointing her harpoon jet at the frantic figure Markovitch squeezed the trigger built into the handgrip, releasing an elongated dart shaped projectile that swam quickly towards the Gillman while she fought back the recoil of the weapon. 

_Arrgh!. She nearly dropped the weapon as an intense feeling of burning went through her right leg, accompanied by the banshee wail of a sonic round. Her body tried to compensate for the sudden loss of balance but her left foot didn't get a steady stand on the sand and she felt down. A shot came out of Kern's gas cannon and together with more incendiary rounds from Fowler's cannon the shots brought down the alien, which felt into the sand releasing streams of tiny bubbles from the wounds it had received all over its body. _

When she finally opened her eyes after the pain had become bearable she realized that she had felt on her side and that her helmet's visor was half-covered by sand. She couldn't tell how bad she had been hit since she had felt into her injured leg and an icy burning was replacing the pain as the frozen water came into contact with her injury. _That sonic shit is worse than plasma!_

But her attention was quickly taken by the partial vision ahead of her. A sonic round caught Fowler straight on his belly and sliced his body into two pieces with the upper portion falling slowly in the water next to the legs. The immediate death of the trooper caught her by surprise. _There must be a second alien out there!_ Rolling her body until her belly was downwards she used her hands to try to get into a firing position. But a series of cracking sounds from Gutierrez's gauss avenged Fowler's death a moment later though as he and Kern fired back at the alien. The soldiers then stood on her tracks to see if there were more ambushers lurking around while the rest of the squad caught up with them. 

By now she had recognized the species as Gillmen, the other species of aliens that had been encountered so far by X-Com on the second war. As a chemical flare rose above the position of the alien it revealed its fallen shape in the middle of the sea bottom. On her side Kern stood down from his firing position and started to move and take Fowler's position in the formation while another soldier in light blue armor walked past her.

The dark blue shapes of Renton and Mellow stopped by her as she finally managed to get into a sitting position and looked at her wound. Shock came to her as she realized that the sonic round had literally dissolved a two-inch portion of the side of her leg and suit, with   blood floating away in the water.

The injury looked serious enough to her but as Renton kneeled by her side and examined it he gave a thumbs up to Mellow, who simply brought upwards his torpedo launcher and resumed his pace following Gutierrez and the other soldiers. _I guess I'll pull it off unless he just decided that the USO is more important than me. _

A twinge of fear came to her as she worried that she might bleed to death on these cold waters but Renton's hands came to her helmet and made it turn towards him. The leading seaman's hairs on his scalp could be seen despise the pink fluid and he grinned at her, which immediately set her worries at ease. She could feel a sense of protectiveness instead of grief or pain on the other soldier towards her, which said that the injury wasn't that bad. Then he took out a yellow rectangular box from his belt and held it out with its right hand while using a grip on its top. A green bubble formed on a small hole on its side and taking the semi-rigid mass with his other hand he simply placed it over the wound. Then he ordered her to stay put and left, heading towards the direction taken by the rest of the squad. 

The area was still lit by the chemical flares and after the team had left, Markovitch found herself standing in a patch of yellow sand completely surround by deep black. _I guess I'll just have to wait until they come back for me. _

Madhouse Rock, Western Pacific

The team had finally picked her up and got back to the base after they had found and assaulted the USO. They had found three more Gillmen inside and had killed them all but had lost another soldier in the process. 

"How are ya feeling?" _Like shit. _The answer to Gutierrez's question came naturally to Markovitch's mind, as she stood seated on a white marquee on the base's medical section. The walls of the observation room had been painted in a light blue tone and a table filled with surgical objects and plastic flasks was nearby. The doctor that had just left after patching her up had told her that later they would implant a patch of muscle graft grown from her own muscular cells to replace the portion that had been taken away by the sonic beam. He had just gone through the exit door taking the sample section to be flown away to land and cloned back at San Diego after taking care of her wound. For now she would have to wear clutches to move around on the base and had been taken away from combat duty until her leg had fully recovered, something that they had told her that would take from two to three weeks.

"Not bad". The wound gave her a terrible itching and she only wanted to take away the white bandages and scratch at it. The leading seaman stepped inside on his light blue jumpsuit and smiled. "Bullshit. I've taken one of those myself. Don't worry, they'll patch you just fine". 

Her head and face still felt sticky from the breathing liquid and she only wanted to get out of the dirty dark blue swimsuit that she had worn underneath the diving suit. "Meanwhile you'll just have to find somebody to replace me. I'm useless gear for now. Why would you care meanwhile?"

Gutierrez looked at her in surprise and shook his head while scratching his scalp. "Watkins, I already have to put up with Kern. Please tell me that I'm not in charge of a team of clam heads".

The remark made her apologize. "Ok, sorry for being a 'clam head'. I'm just not in a good mood now". The leading seaman simply nodded in appreciation and replied. "Well you never seen to be anyways but I have good news: when you get out of here grab your stuff and move it to the squad's barracks". 

The news that now she was considered an experienced soldier made her to open her eyes and look at the short soldier. "I thought I could only get there after my fifth mission". To her question he simply pointed to her injured leg. "That counts as the fifth. The NCOs just talked about it after debriefing and Mellow wasn't sure but me and Renton managed to convince him otherwise and Barnby didn't object. You've been kicking some serious alien butt lately and you deserve some sort of a reward". 

"Is that so? I never heard of somebody getting a promotion just because they got shot at". 

"And survived. Something rare around here and it wasn't really your fault".

"I wonder how some people in the squad will take it. Wouldn't it sound as if I'm getting ahead of all the others?"

"Don't worry. You're the only one left on the rookie section anyways after Ballinger bought it in the USO assault. And so far you've taken pretty much care of yourself. I don't know from what rock you crawled out of but you're not one of those wannabe kids that think playing soldiers is cool or just someone who has a grudge against the aliens". The mention of the aliens made her frown and Gutierrez noted it but didn't pursue it. 

"In any case, just try not to do mistakes and you'll do fine. But watch out for her: she seriously hates you I think". He looked at his watch. "Well I have to go now". 

"Just one question: what's going on between her and Renton? Those guys are on the same team but they seemed to hate one another". The question made him stop halfway towards the door. "Well just stay out of their way. Everybody here dies eventually". The answer didn't answer a thing but she just settled her back on the pillows and decided to leave it for later. 

October 3rd, 2044

Norfolk, Virginia, US

The mess hall of the main military US headquarters was several blocks away from the X-Com section of the base but for Dr. Camay the quality of the food and the general mood made worth the travel. In the weeks after her arrival at Norfolk she had barely gotten to know anybody on the base besides the scientific personnel with whom she had been working in alien physiology, one of the few subjects where she could contribute to X-Com's research. But in her case it also allowed her to continue her own secret analysis of the alien's molecular control capability, a mixture of mental powers and some unknown physics that allowed them to influence and control things as great as the climate and as little as the mind of a human. 

The most logical explanation was that it was somehow related to the psi powers used by the aliens on the first Alien War. However, they were somewhat different to the point that even humans with high skill psi scores were prone to manipulation from the aliens. There was still no explanation for why it happened and most of the few theoretical concepts learned from the research made during the last conflict didn't seem to apply. Also there wasn't anything that could power a working psi device to test any of these. At least not yet, she corrected, hoping that the team responsible for Zrbite research would come up with results soon. Most of the effort at Norfolk was being put into other areas and deciphering the alien mineral's secrets was not considered a high-importance project by whoever was in charge. Officially, the Council had dismissed the project as either 'impossible' or 'inconsequential'. However the budget line that referred to this controversial research had never been erased or even discussed by at the meetings. Camay knew that it was because even the Oil Cartel knew eventually their influence over the world's energy production ability will only vane in the future. While forbidding any use of sonic weapons or anything powered by Zrbite and locking it down they also made sure that if any single country made a breakthrough they wouldn't be caught completely unaware. But at least it kept the Inspector General occupied and away from her own activities.

It was dinnertime and most of the hall was occupied with a mass of servicemen in white, blue and green uniforms, ranging from sailors to marines and other ground personnel. A few dispersed civilians could also be seen, with their colorful and bright clothing standing out in the lines of tables and chairs. She was one of them, with her already advanced age contrasting brightly against the general youth ness of other mess attendants. So far none of the servicemen had even approached her table although it was more for respect than anything against civilians. 

She had no problem in eating her lunch by her own but this time a figure also in white lab coveralls approached her, holding a plastic tray with a juice bottle and a boxed sandwiched inside. By the look of the newcomer she realized that the man was barely past his thirties with its forehead and eyes still clear of any wrinkles although his brown hair was starting to turn white. "I'm sorry to disturb, but are you Dr. Camay?"

"Why yes. And who might you be?" From the insignia she already knew that he belonged to the X-Com contingent at the base. 

Holding the tray with just one hand the man extended his other hand. "Robert Elliquist, doctor. I'm a scientist myself back at the X-Com research facility but in a different department". 

"What department doctor?" 

"Xenopological studies, doctor, I'm investigating their culture". The reference made Camay to take a look again at the scientist wondering if he was one of the type that would get himself lost for years in a isolated tribal environment to study them. He looked too much clean and civilized for that but it only made Camay to realize that most likely he lived on that same sort of environment inside X-Com. "That's very interesting doctor to say the least".

"Oh yes and I would like you to ask you a number of questions over lunch if you don't mind doctor". 

The request made Camay curious and worried: the alien psi powers were a major part of their culture. Was he going to ask her about them inside a military mess hall where they could be overheard by soldiers?

As he sat down in front of her he noticed her apprehension and replied. "Don't worry doctor. I have done a research on you and I'm are that some of the topics you have covered on your, if I might say, brilliant career are currently not as well seen by the general public. What I would like to know is a bit more of your own personal contact experiences with live aliens. You are one of the few scientists beside me to have been able to have direct communication with aliens since the military take all the captured ones for interrogation and never release them alive. And time is always short nowadays since the extravagance of my project will sure be ended if the Council decides to cut more funding".

"I'd say so far you have been lucky in keeping your research alive? How do you manage that doctor?"

He made a sly smile. "By convincing the Inspector General of the worthlessness of this project to any of the war effort doctor. Studying the alien culture is something that will need to be done but it won't change the war balance and it doesn't bring any controversy at the Council meetings".

"But I'm afraid you are mistaken doctor". The half lie came next. "I'm afraid my contact with aliens basically resumes to when I was fighting them in the first war and dissecting their bodies down at the lab". She didn't add the fact that she had studied all alien life forms encountered so far, from the Aquatoids and Gillmen and the species they used in their terror attacks for the molecular control research. 

"Exactly doctor. What I'm trying to find is if there's something on the anatomies of the bodies you have investigated that is common to all of them". 

_The devices_. The name stuck in her tongue as she thought of an appropriate response to the query. It had been found out that all aliens possessed a device located in their body that somehow connected them to a global conscience network. Every time that one of the sites had been activated the small-boxed devices had gone active in response. Nobody knew why the reason at X-Com and the alien technology was simply removed and destroyed for safety reasons. But she had removed the device in surgical operations performed on live aliens and had discovered that the creatures would die the second it was removed.

"There are indications to that matter doctor". She decided to stick to the official explanation to the millimeter. 

"Doctor, I understand security clearances. However what I'm trying to determine is how great the absorption of the species and their culture can vary inside the alien society".

Picking a carrot with her fork she brought it to her mouth but remained silent. He sighed and continued. "I had expected it. But in any case I wonder if you could still help me. See I believe I have strong evidence already of the Gillmen being a natural species rather than being developed by the Aquatoids". She looked at him. The   Gillmen had first been encountered on the second year of the war and it had been a surprise for both scientists and military commanders. 

The autopsies and interrogations of captured prisoners had revealed them to be humanoid reptiles that had green skin and were fully capable of living either on the land or underwater. The official version was that they had been developed from human and reptilian DNA to provide the Aquatoids with a army to take the Earth's oceans.

"You are saying that the Gillmen are like the Snakemen of the previous war? Something that the Aquatoids picked along? That sounds ridiculous". 

"Just bear with me doctor. There aren't genetic similarities between Aquatoids and Gillmen. However it is known that the same doesn't apply to Gillmen and humans". 

"Of course. The aliens didn't simply create the Gillmen out of nothing: they used humans and that's why we share a lot of DNA with them". 

"But in that case why didn't they use also Aquatoid DNA? And why haven't we found the same genetic markers that are equal to both humans and aliens on them". The comment drew hard looks from the sailors that were close enough to hear it and Elliquist dropped his voice. "I believe they once were a fully matured and independent species before they were conquered by the Aquatoids". 

She shook her head with a strand of hair falling to her face. "That argument has been used over and over, doctor". Removing it and tucking it back to her ponytail she continued. "The truth is that it would imply that an intelligent species has been living on the bottoms of the oceans of this planet for thousands of years without being discovered or even reported. That would be either the greatest case of blindness or a major error being done in the whole logic". 

"I know it sounds preposterous but my research has shown that there might be the right answer. Gillmen it seems, have their own mythology which his preserved on a mental tradition close to our oral or written ones, with the only difference being that they use their mental powers in the process".

"Myths? Do you mean they have a religion?"

"No, it's more of a tradition, stories that are passed from one generation to another. Like children or religious stories". 

"But how have you determined that?"

"By examining unclassified reports of interrogations being made on the aliens. The intelligence personnel censor most of the information contained but things like details from their society are revealed. Unlike any aliens ever encountered we have found that there are two genders anatomically and genetically separated, full sexual males and females theoretically capable of sexual reproduction, although the military kept out the part if they ever recorded any couplings made in captivity". The notion of aliens having sex also disgusted Camay and expressed it to Dr. Elliquist, who was quick to stop and apologize". 

"It's better if you get to your point doctor".

"Yes, madam. Well, when those reports were released to the scientific community a number of social scientists including myself started to wonder if it was possible for more complex patterns of social behavior to exist inside alien societies. Sexual reproduction by an intelligent species would sure mean the existence of a collective conscience regarding the way they see their society as a whole. That's another aspect we are also trying to figure out, if they have something like families or larger communal institutions or even if there's social differentiation between sexes. But going back to my point, another thing we start to notice on the recordings made of their interrogations was the reference to what was translated into nearly metaphysical expressions. Terms such as 'Paradise', the 'Fallen Ones' and others made us to wonder to what they are referring since those words were always spoken in the past tense".

"Could just be that they are longing for the stars. Depends on your point of view, doctor, although nowadays nobody wants to believe the story that the aliens are trying to contact the Starspawn". 

"Oh, I'm well aware of how the Inquisitor General sees such opinions expressed on the scientific papers we present to him. Somehow I've discovered that it's easier to get authorization if those ideas are left out of our final research". 

Elliquist smiled and but Camay didn't find it amusing enough and kept looking at him with a neutral expression unwilling to be seen as a potential troublemaker. "Anyway, those matters aren't important to my research. What I want to discover is how Gillmen society might have been organized before their take-over. See, there wasn't any data available on that on the few materials available from the…" The conversation carried on during the rest of the meal although Camay didn't said much and preferred to listen more. At the end she decided to go back to the cafeteria at the X-Com barracks since she was bored to death. 

October 5th, 2044

Brooklyn, New York City, US

John Delaney was dead. He wasn't physically deceased yet but he was sure the clock was ticking against him as he saw the news on the visionset about the death of the admiral that was in charge of X-Com days ago. He had seen the warnings before as he had watched a number of Cult advertisements on the networks and knew that something wrong had happened. 

Not something, he told himself, but an inevitable step that he had taken, choosing to ignore all consequences because they would be even worse. Telling the visionset to disconnect he considered what actions were still available to him. He couldn't go back to the Cult now or even require police protection since they would simply think that he was insane. And meanwhile they could start to suspect of his abilities and police officers weren't much sympathetic towards the aliens in general. 

Getting up from the sofa, his eyes crossed the beard and beret of the Che Guevara poster that his female friend had chosen to be projected on the wall behind the visionset. 'No pasarán', the phrase written below the red and black face said, in a handwriting more likely to have been made up by a graphic designer who had come up with the idea of the entire projection. From his college studies he knew that the expression wasn't even close to reality, having being said more than a century ago by a communist woman in a European civil war that predated Guevara's time. He disliked the thing although he didn't suspect that it had anything to do with the historical errors that it displayed.

Or probably it was the fact that he was staying at the place of an old girlfriend for the time being to hide after fleeing Atlanta. He hadn't spoke to her in years but the moment he had called her from a pay phone on the train station he had sniffed that she would take him. Delaney and others like him called themselves 'sniffers' because of their ability to sense feelings on other persons. The feeling was akin to scent, in the way that fear, aggression, love or sympathy had a different 'taste' to it. And like the human nose can be trained to detect hundreds of different odors so his mind could recognize if not what another person was thinking at least what he or she was feeling. The sensation could awkward to him or even unpleasant if he was in the middle of a crowd since it could be very unpleasant. And he also had to take great care into hiding it since he could be in a lot of trouble if it was discovered. Physical beatings on known psis were common even if they never used their psionic powers.

The owner of the apartment where he was staying never knew about his ability and the same applied to both his parents and childhood friends. In fact, the majority of the ones who possessed it never had any idea about their 'god's gift' like it was called at the church on Atlanta. In primary school the kids would tease or bully the ones that were too quiet and silent, calling them 'freaks' and no one was really interested in knowing something that would mark them as a stigmata all their lives. Except for the Cult, which was always interested in psi capable people. 

Although their official policy was to follow the law, which meant that the 'gifted' brothers and sisters would never use their abilities in public or otherwise risk a criminal prosecution, the Cult had plenty of uses for psis, especially in detecting spies or individuals prone to emotional manipulation. Delaney had been at their service for more than fifteen years until he had decided to leave them days ago. 

He had came to the conclusion that he had been manipulated by the Cult in the same way that he had helped to do to hundreds of people. It was something that he had always known for the start but now he had finally gotten tired of it. 

But now he sensed that his time had run out as he felt the presence that he had sensed before walking down the outside corridor stopping in front of the door to his apartment. And he also knew exactly who it was since he had been with the man many times. Only this time the coldness he felt was something knew that he couldn't place but he had a strong opinion about what it meant.

The door simply opened in front of him without a sound and he saw the figure of Delacroix standing there with one hand on his black jacket pocket and the other in front of his belly. "You should get the door fixed Delaney. In these days you never know who might break in". The sudden apparition made him stumble backwards and he crashed back into the sofa as back of his knees hit it. The X-Com officer was dressed in civilian clothing, with a black jacket and pants and also dark soft hat that was covered with raindrops. There was moisture all over his face also but he didn't seemed to matter. "Good. I was about to tell to have a seat but I can see that you read my mind first". The sarcastic tone of Delacroix's voice arose the temperature on his blood since the man knew that he wasn't able to control minds or read thoughts. He was simply joking with him and he tried to control his anger and fear and he placed his arms on the soft cushion of the sofa to get up again. 

Delacroix smiled, something that didn't make Delaney easy but make him stop his movement right away as he patted his leather jacket. "Easy John, just imagine that I have a gun under my pocket and stay cool right there. I'm only here because I need information". 

"You have a weapon there for sure". He had known Delacroix for so long that he didn't expect anything less. "In fact you might as well have two of them for what I know about you". Delacroix smiled at him, remembering the additional small caliber pistol he had attached to his leg in addition to the semi-automatic he was holding with his concealed hand just in case. Delaney's next sentence made him to his slight grin into a tight face. "And I can tell that most likely you are here because you're about to kill me". 

Still with his hands on his pockets, Delacroix shook his head. "No wonder the Cult decided to get you years ago. And it wouldn't surprise me if they weren't after your head at this very same moment. After all, like they say if you're a psi: either you're with the Cult or you're against us. Isn't that right?"

The cold feeling Delaney felt through the room sent him shivers. "Hey, want do you want Delacroix? I've told all I know about the Cult and their activities. And how did you find me here? I haven't told anyone to where I was going and I made sure that I left no trace". Delacroix shrugged. "I remembered that you once mentioned to me that you had particularly enjoyed a weekend with a female friend of yours up here. That both of you had had a lot of fun at her apartment. From the stuff you told me then it wasn't hard to see that it would be the first place if you would go if you ever decided to run".

Delaney looked in suspicion at the dark clothed man. "You knew for long I was going to run away?"

"Everyone does once in a while, either running from something or from themselves. What I found surprising is when people decide to stay and face the heat. But I've never placed you into that category. That's why I knew exactly to where you would most likely run to". 

He carefully started to move away from the sofa and towards the door. "What do you want from me? I've told you everything I knew".

The X-Com officer looked at him carefully and his voice was slightly raised. "No you haven't. For a start and among other things you haven't told me why you decided to leave the Cult without informing me first. And why are they so mad right now that you decided to jump the boat on them?"

"Look, I got tired of all of their religious mumbo-jumbo as you know. And I also was getting fed up running your double game at the same time that they used my powers. The aliens don't care a damn about the idiots who pray for them every night, that's pretty obvious". That wasn't the whole truth but Delaney knew better than to give Delacroix the entire story. Something bad was going to happen; he knew it and he wanted to be as far away as possible. He immediately sensed that the man hadn't bought it like he had hoped. 

"Don't give me that regret talk Delaney or that you've decided to turn chicken after all this time. On the last years you simply looked the other way around while giving me information about the Cult without caring to what they would do to you if they discovered. Why have you decided to change now? What is going on in Atlanta that I don't know?"

"Nobody knows! That's the point. I've told you before about how the suspicions of the elders concerning the new aliens. But their ambiguity has been growing more and more. Before I left I heard talk about how they should join with the aliens and how the 'corrupt sinners' should be punished". Delacroix didn't flinch at the mention of X-Com, although Delaney felt that the other man had disliked the expression. He strongly suspected that Delacroix worked for the organization but he simply wasn't sure. But it didn't matter. From what he knew and had seen of the man's past it didn't matter to whom he worked for. 

Looking around the apartment Delacroix nodded. "Very well, then". He took his hands from his pockets and crossed them in front of his chest, a gesture that Delaney didn't find too comforting since he felt that the man had decided to give him some room but that it would only last for some moments. "What's your opinion on that?"

"Look Delacroix, when I met you years ago you made me saw how pointless it was to keep following the Cult. I wasn't a youngster anymore like when I joined them". The officer's arguments hadn't been restricted to simple persuasion. 

"I don't want to get myself involved into his anymore. A lot of bad things have been happening like the killings of X-Com personnel that appeared on the news and a number of people at Atlanta have also been missing. I don't know if it's revenge or just people who were simply on the way and had to be removed. The only thing I know now is that I'm not going to trust anyone because they can be the person who has been sent to kill me". 

As soon as he had finished the words Delaney realized in horror what were Delacroix's intentions all along, although the man had somehow managed to hide them from his psionic powers. But by the moment he had stopped feeling the sentimental flash Delacroix had taken out his semi-automatic from his pocket and pointed it at him. "Relax". He said calmly. "For he whose name wasn't been found written in the Book of Life has been cast to the lake of fire". Delacroix then pressed the trigger three times and the other man felt dead on the floor. 

Placing his gun back to the holster Delacroix kept speaking at the dead body as he grabbed it and set it down on the sofa. "You knew too much. Your only value to me was when you were inside them. I guess those alien powers didn't made you clever enough to realize that". Reaching for his jacket pockets he took out the objects he had been holding before. They were both white phosphorous grenades and when ignited they could reach a temperature of several hundred Celsius degrees. He pulled the pin on one and threw it to the sofa and also primed the other one but sent it to the other corner of the living. The phosphorous started to burn immediately, sending thick columns of smoke. Delacroix then opened a window and left the apartment through the fire escape ladder. By the time the fire engines started to arrive he was well away from the building and on its way to the nearby train station.

André Galvão, 2003 


	6. Borderline

X-Com: Abyssal

Chapter Five – Borderline

October 10th, 2044

Madhouse Rock, Pacific

The officers meeting room was located on one of the central modules that composed the floating base and it was next to the double hull, with the circular viewport allowing for some natural light to supplement the neon cylinders built into the ceiling. Like most of the base it had been designed in a naval fashion where unused space was considered a luxury and therefore the six men that were seated couldn't stretch their elbows sideways without hitting the officers on their sides. There were only seven seats on the room, all made of   metal and synthetic rubber and they bolted to the floor to prevent them from being tossed around in case the sea conditions would get rough. Besides being used for meetings the   room was also used as the officer's dining hall and the walls were filled with cabinets were the silverware and plates were stored, together with personal visisets and other forms of entertainment. 

The six officers and the single NCO inside were all wearing field jumpsuits of khaki or sea blue color with gold and silver pins on their lapels. The color of the uniforms reflected their position inside X-Com's organization: the non-combat officers used khaki suits while the blue fatigues were assigned to the combat personnel. They had all of their service caps removed and placed on shelves above the chairs and those also reflected the differences with black for the latter and blue assigned to the former. At the top of the table and directly facing the door that led into the corridor outside the base's commanding officer was seated. His sleek facial features and slanted eyes told of his Asian origin and his hair was completely black not revealing a sign of his fifty years, although most of the officers knew that he dyed his hair. Lt. Braddock, which was seated on his right at the middle of the table with  Sublieutenant Rashid separating him from the captain, knew it for a fact since he had noticed that the collar of Captain Pak seemed to turn dark from time to time. And as the base's procurement officer he also had noticed the monthly request for hair dye that was logged into the computers. He wondered how it would be if the captain used instead the stuff on the useless dye grenades that were a part of the general combat equipment: they had been developed to cover soldiers in combat and the substance was as sticky as the natural dye used by octopuses. However the substance didn't spread too much and it was useless to make blocking screens unless the soldiers used an awful amount of the grenades. Like the ink on squids it was only useful if an alien moved close to a soldier but in that case the trooper would be more worried to either flee from the extraterrestrial's deadly hand-to-hand weapons or to fire at it.

The table was filled with the officers' small noteputers with the visiscreens shinning over the small rectangular keyboards. The only ones that didn't have one were Captain Pak, whose aide, Sublieutenant Rashid, carried and took care of all paperwork for him and Chief Agnello who relied on his impressive memory to either quote from the bible or report on each squad's condition. Agnello was also different because he was the only one in the room that had reached the top of the ladder inside X-Com. If a soldier reached Chief Petty Officer rank it meant that he would didn't had the appropriate connections to be transferred to officer school while he was a non-commissioned officer. He was seated in a relaxed manner on this side of the table, the only blue figure to do so in the blue side of the table. Rashid and Braddock both wore khaki, meaning that they had managed to get out of combat operations by being assigned to the support branch. Agnello wasn't completely out of the frying pan since he still had a combat status but it would be easier to see Lt. Commander Parkenson, the commanding officer of all combat forces in the base in action than the senior NCO. 

As Braddock's eyes swept through the other side of the table that was filled with sea blue it gave him satisfaction because he had been on their boots while he was stationed at the North Sea floating base. The Alaskan councilman had promised him to make everything possible for him to be reassigned to a non-combat role but it had taken Delacroix and that woman Markovitch for it to actually happen. He caught Parkenson looking at him but the Icelandic man diverted his gaze the next minute and he kept listening to report made by Ensign Costa, the combat section's commanding officer. 

"Even with the two replacements that arrived from land a week ago we are still undermanned. Third squad is less than seventy percent strength: right now they can't even fill all of the spots on a Triton. First and second squads are slightly better but if we start only using them losses will soon grow higher and we'll have to merge squads if we want to keep assaulting the USOs". 

Captain Pak wasn't pleased and he turned to Parkenson. "That is completely unacceptable! What do you propose to do about this?" The commander started to speak but Rashid cut him off. "We should request more soldiers from land. Alien activity has stepped up in the past month around the base, sir. If we keep intercepting them at this rate they might decide we're becoming too much of nuisance to them and act like they did before". 

Agnello shifted on his chair, uncomfortably, already knowing the end result of the discussion. "Sir, we need more aqua-plastic armor and gauss rifles for the troops. We need to use the funding for those otherwise losses will continue to be the same". He had been the only one wearing his service cap and now he removed it, showing the baldness on the top of his head. Rashid simply waved him off with his hand. "Chief Petty, you like all others here present in the room know the financial considerations. And each gauss weapon or armor we order is one less replacement soldier that this base is going to get".   

Braddock simply nodded to confirm Rashid's assessment. He knew very well the tactical value of both items but as the base's procurement officer he was even more aware of their cost. The SORESO scientists had developed aqua-plastic armor after they had discovered the composition of the extremely light and strong material the aliens used on their submarines. It consisted of several layers of natural metals bound together in a crystalline structure by a high-energy process that made it stronger than the regular Kevlar armor worn by the aquanauts. It was assumed that the aliens used the Zrbite mineral to power the process but X-Com's scientists had managed to replicate it using nuclear power. But it still made the process very costly: the factory price tag of an armor set was at twenty thousand neodollars to manufacture, not counting the additional cost of producing the aqua-plastics in case there wasn't enough aqua-plastics recovered from USO crash sites. To fully equip a soldier with advanced armor and gauss weaponry could cost more fifty thousand neodollars and with that money it was possible to hire up to three additional soldiers. And not to mention to sell the armor and the weapon at the open market at a price that was the double of the production cost, turning in a huge profit into X-Com's financial accounts. "Aqua-plastic and gauss are expensive to buy at this moment". Braddock knew pretty well the mathematics and so did everybody else in the room. Chief Agnello started to fight back the argument but Braddock wasn't finished.  "And we shouldn't forget that just to replace the SWS that your troops lost in the previous month will severely cut into this month's budget. We already had to pay India base for the replacements we received in the previous week and right now our situation isn't too solid". While watching Mellow and Parkenson digest the comment his mind drifted to the small changes he had made on the base's paperwork. They had received two of the underwater tanks but there was only enough ammunition to arm one of them although the balance sheet showed that money had been used to equip both of them. The missing funds had been split between him and another officer at the Indian base and he had immediately applied them into buying X-Com's stock. Braddock's secret retirement fund had now more than one hundred thousand neodollars, all from the weapons deals and other more secret sources, and all of was it invested in the force's shares. _Since I reinvest the money on X-Com, it can't be that bad_. 

October 14th, 2044

Madhouse Rock, Pacific

Hurt. Small trickles of pain had been bothering her for the past hour and Markovitch was starting to feel exhausted as the medical technician continued to perform the tissue graft on her leg. He had only given her a local anesthesia whose effect seemed to last less than ten minutes before her leg started to inch, with the feeling slowly increasing. Seated on a chair while the white doctor continued with the procedure she had complained but he simply had told her that the pain was a signal that her nerve system was still working and had ignored her afterwards. 

For a minute she had considered hitting the guy on the head with one of the metal basins that were on the table at his side but she had wisely decided that it would probably only make him to restart the whole procedure. 

She felt the sweat starting to accumulate on her armpits and back and wished that the doctor would either open some sort of window or increase the air conditioning of the room but the man's occasional sneezing told her that it wouldn't be a good idea. Especially if the person who seemed to have a cold was at the moment using a scalpel on your leg. Her eyes drifted to the ceiling and the white lights there present, reminding her of the months she had spent at the hospital bed after she had been awaken from the deep cryogenic freeze. 

"Captain?" The voice was almost too low to be unheard, a faint whisper that she paid no attention as fogginess entered her conscious mind. Somebody had just walked into her field of vision on her side, but she couldn't see who it was with her eyelids half-shut and feeling that she was looking through a glass tube. 

"She's gone now sir". A new presence moved into the opposite side, taller than the first but still obscured in darkness. He sounded familiar to her but the voice was groggy as if the person had just gotten out of bed. "I know. We'll soon be together". She immediately recognized the new voice and her head jacked backwards, hitting the rest on the chair and sending a crashing pain down her head and neck. "Erwin!" As her eyes opened and focused on the person in front of her, she had the startled technician looking at her. 

"Jesus! You just scared the hell of me. Just be quiet and lie still there. I'm almost done here!" Then he went back to his work on her leg, as she looked around, still dazzled about the whole situation. _Why can't I simply forget about him?_ She knew that the question was rhetorical but she still chewed upon it as the doctor finished up patching up and started to apply bandages on her leg. After it was done he gave her a plastic tube of cream. "Put this three times a day. I will quicken the scarring process. It's going to leave an ugly scar but it's nothing a good plastic surgeon can't fix back on shore if you want so. And start using that leg also". 

A short time after, she was standing on one kruch as she left the base's small infirmary, Markovitch was closing the metal hatch door when a familiar voice coming from the corridor made her turn. "Hey Watkins, how did it go?" Turning around she saw a Kern wearing a red and blue Hawaiian shirt with a pair of sunglasses standing on his head and bearing military swimming shorts. "Good. He told me that I'm almost recovered". She gave a look at his clothes. "Are you going on leave or something?"

He opened his arms. "You don't know yet about the 'steel beach' party?"

"Steel beach party?" She decided it should another of the strange costumes that went along with all navies. "What's that?" 

"A party at the top of the base. The captain asked for authorization for it a couple of days ago and they just announced it. Come on! I'll show you". Kern started heading down the corridor towards the base's central airlock with Markovitch limping on his side. 

"It's an old Navy tradition". He started explaining. "Whenever an aircraft carrier was more than a certain period of time at sea, the captain could request to high command to hold a 'steel beach party' on its flight deck. Since leaves here are now practically non existent since we have been on full alert for months the Chief Petty asked the captain for it". 

"But where are you going to house a party here? There's hardly any place left on the mess hall during meals time?" They had reached the central entrance area at the end of the corridor, right before the sub pens. "Right above". Kern went for a ladder that lead into the top of the base and started climbing it. "You need any help climbing up?" Using only her good leg and her hands she started going upwards behind him. "I'll be fine, thanks". 

As Kern reached the top of the metal ladder he grabbed a metal bar that was attached to the hatch and turned it. Using both his hands he then pushed it upwards and as it opened the small tunnel were both were was filled with sunlight. When they both stepped out of the hatch, Markovitch looked at the clear blue sky, which only had a couple of clouds.

The top of the floating base was completely flat besides the radar and radio antennas that were standing on one corner. Around them, seamen were carrying crates filled with food and beverages to an area filled with tables and chairs brought from the mess hall. The base's cooks had a barbecue going on in the middle of the deck with a long line of waiting sailors that were holding plastic plates. On another section a game of basketball was taking place while jumping boards had been set at one side of the deck for the seamen who wanted to take a swim on the ocean. Music was being played on speakers while men and women sunbathed or otherwise relaxed under the noon sun. 

Looking at Petty Mellow and Gutierrez, who passed nearby them wearing diving trunks, Markovitch commented. "I never expected this. Even the petty looks relaxed for a change". 

"Yeah, well even they have to relax a little bit in the middle of this war. That even applies to you, Watkins". 

"Meaning?" She stopped as he kept walking towards a pile of ice containers. "You know what I mean Watkins. You're one of the most uptight people around this place". Renton was standing next to the blue and white portable freezers wearing an open short sleeve shirt, shorts and slippers. As Kern approached him, he smiled to him. "How's it going Kermie?"

"Don't call me that, Rennie". The seaman scuffled at the diminutive of his name. "Otherwise people might discover our relationship and start becoming jealous". 

Slapping him Kern on his shoulder with his hand, Renton replied. "Yeah, right, you'd wish! Save your ass to the aliens, you fuck!" The verbal jabs between both of them made Markovitch a small grin and Renton removed his dark glasses as he noticed. "She smiles! Well, I guess this might be my lucky day. Here, have one of those and chill out". He passed green beer cans to both of them and then walked away towards a group of soldiers that were resting on their towels on the metal floor several feet away. "Catch you all later". As Renton moved away while shaking his hips in some sort of dance and humming a tone, Markovitch opened her can and took a drag of the beer. "Sometimes I can't figure out which of you is worse in being completely brainless". 

"Hey! You've just hurt my ego! I take pride on being the number one jerk around here!" Waving him off she gazed at the distance and remembered the old days back on Area 51. The atmosphere of the party was equal to the occasional celebrations that had taken place on the hangars of the secret base during the first war. People would still try to relax and forget that there was a conflict raging all over them and that it might be the last time that they could have some fun on their lives before a plasma shot fired from the aliens took their lives. Some of his fondest memories with Johnson came from those moments, where they could simply enjoy the moment and forget about what the future might bring with the rest of the troops. Men and women would die later and they would be remembered on the next occasion, sometimes with tears but for that moment they all felt glad to be alive. _Is that how you are feeling now?_

"Did you say something?" Kern's voice brought her back to the steel deck of the base. "No, nothing, just thinking out loud". 

"One day, you've got to tell me what you think so much about, Watkins". Looking at him in suspicion, she asked. "Why would I do that?"

"Maybe I can help you. Psychology is one of my specialties". She pouted at his claim. "Yeah, right, in that case doctor, how come they haven't assigned you to military intelligence if you're so smart?"

"Are you kidding?" He puffed his chest. "They did but decided against it. Too much work and no play".  While Kern spoke Markovitch saw Ensign Books approaching them, having overheard the conversation. The Triton pilot's jumpsuit was all smeared with grease and some of it seemed to have found its way into Books' arms and neck. Markovitch wondered if he ever bothered to take a shower. "Don't listen to him, sweetie. I still remember his arrival trip at Madhouse. His gibberish made me wonder if I shouldn't simply dump in on the Pacific". Looking at the way his hair stuck to his skull and forehead, Markovitch decided that the man's nickname should be 'sticky'. "So how's it going sweetie? I'm happy that you've survived. From the first look at ya, I thought you'd bought it on the first missions and that would be a shame for both of us". 

"For both of us, ensign Books?"

"Yeah, I know just this place on storage area C that is comfortable enough…" Books intention only increased her disgust at his figure. "No way!" Looking as if he had heard the answer a number of times he rubbed his hand on his temple and examined it afterwards. "I think I'm too clean. Don't worry once you tried it you'll never want anything else". _ Yeah, right, _she thought as he moved away until a singing voice made her turn. 

"The aliens threw a party in the human jail.

The calcinite was there and it began to wail

The squad was jumpin' and the base began to swing.

You should've heard those knocked out waterbirds sing".

". Looking at the direction of the music she saw that most of her squad had gathered at one side of the deck and that Renton was on the middle seated on a beach chair with his fingers on the strings of a guitar. 

 "Let's rock, everybody, let's rock.

Everybody in the sub pen block

Was dancin' on Madhouse Rock."

"What is that song?" Markovitch asked as Renton now got up and held the guitar on a pose. 

"Trooper Murphy played the gauss-o-phone,

Little Joe was scared to the bone.

The Triton from land went crash, boom, bang,

The whole third section was the doomed gang.

"You never heard of Elvis? The singer from the twentieth that got abducted by the aliens?" 

She turned to face Kern with her mouth twisted in disbelief. "Abducted by aliens? Kern, your brain sometimes is nothing more than sushi. I heard of Elvis Presley. But have only heard 'Jailhouse Rock on its original version. Did Renton make up that version?"

"Let's rock, everybody, let's rock.

Everybody in the sub pen block

Was dancin' on Madhouse Rock".

"Oh no. It was written by a soldier stationed here wrote after the destruction of the first base on this area by the aliens".

 "The aquanaut was tied to a block of stone

Way over in the ocean standing all alone.

The trooper said, "Hey, buddy, don't you be no square.

If you die fighting an alien no one cares". On the last part Renton looked upwards as if howling. 

"People got really shocked and he decided to write something to cheer the spirits up so he changed the lyrics, made a recording and dumped it on the net". Looking towards the small crowd of listeners he found Markovitch's face and smiled at her. 

"Let's rock, everybody, let's rock.

Everybody in the sub pen block

Was dancin' to the Madhouse Rock".

"That's how this place got its name. It's still officially known as Sixth Fleet HQ but nobody uses it anymore. Madhouse Rock sounds better since this place and this war are both insane". 

"Dancing to the Madhouse Rock". Now Renton had his hips moving as he repeated the chorus softer and softer. "Dancing to the Madhouse Rock". 

"Cheer the spirits?" Renton's figure was nearly comical now as he dropped to his knees for the last part of the song. "Unless I'm wrong it's talking about the destruction of the base".

"You're right. Probably that soldier had….". He trailed for a second. "You know, that kind of powers".

"Psionics you mean". The mention to psis made Kern to freeze and grab her arm. "Watch out that word Watkins and I'm serious. Some folks around here are really itchy about it and just saying it is enough of a motive to pick up a heated argument or a fight. And whatever you do never mention it in front of Crazy T: I've seen him bashing a guy into unconsciousness after he said casually that it would be a great help on this war". 

The sound of concern on his voice told her that at least the issue wasn't that important to Kern and that he wasn't simply making it up. "OK. But why have you mentioned that about the guy who wrote the song?"

Renton had finished singing and Kern had joined the half-hearted clapping of the rest of the squad members. Shrugging his shoulders in mockery, he simply replied. "Could it be that he died when this base was destroyed the second time by the aliens?"

"You gotta be kidding me. That story is just too unbelievable to be heard". 

"What's easier to believe Watkins?" Kern took a long drawl from the beer can he was holding. "That this base is called Madhouse someone rewrote a song before its destruction or that this is just a floating loon house that is attached to a rock in the bottom of the ocean like some people prefer to call it?"

"Neither. I think you guys have spent too much time at sea". 

"Definitely". Kern opened his arms and raised them to the air. "And you know what? We all love it and so will you until you die". His low chuckle was replaced by the sound of Renton's voice, which seemed to getting ready for the next theme. "Hey you guys are going to engage into private talk the whole time or do you want to hang around with the rest of the squad?"

They both looked at Renton who now had gotten up from the floor and was still holding the bright blue guitar as he playing some chords and starting singing in a low dragged voice to Markovitch: "….are you lonesome tonight….". Her own emotional reaction was of jumping in fear.  As the chorus of boos from the rest of the squad came another sharp noise was heard as if had pulled a string from the guitar with too much strength. 

"Ouch!" The sharp snapping sound jerked Renton's hand as the metal string broke and snapped with one of its end hitting his fingers. His expression of pain drew a few laughs from Marsden and some other members of the squad who were seated as comfortable as possible over several large plastic jerry cans that served as impromptu cushions. The female trooper already had quite a tan and Markovitch was distracted to why she had never thought of going to the deck before since it would a way to fight the claustrophobic environment of the base. 

Renton licked the small wound and told them with his eyes to get lost. 

Looking at the able seawoman Markovitch wondered what the hell was wrong with her and Renton since she preferred to stay out of being in the same fireteam as Marsden. The woman had now downed her sleek dark glasses and was looking towards her direction. But as several other soldiers also turned their attention the same way she knew that something else approaching them was the center of all that attention. 

Petty Mellow

"What's up petty?" Mellow's face told Markovitch that it wouldn't be good news as he turned to Kern. "Everybody get down and suit up! The sonar just picked a USO that has touched down near the coast! Third squad is still on detail and the captain just ordered us to assault it". 

"I KNEW IT!" Kern said in disgust and nearly threw down his bottle can. "Just when we were having some fun somebody had to spoil it!" Mellow's eyes went wide open at the outburst which was followed by expressions of disgust from other soldiers until his thundering voice rose above all others. "Knock it off people! Kern and the rest of you get moving now before I stick a tazer up your asses! On the double! Watkins, how's the leg doing?"

Taking the top of the kruch off her armpit she raised it for the petty officer to see. "Well, the doctor said I could use some exercise to accelerate the recovery". 

"Why the fuck are you still there then!? Move!" She didn't need for the petty officer to repeat the order as she started racing towards the hatch on the deck. As third squad headed on a file towards the stairs some of the soldiers and personnel looked at them in curiosity while others tried to ignore them. A large dark-haired man seated on a beach chair simply lifted his beer can to them on a toast and called them something, although they were too far away to hear him. As she passed through the improvised kitchen area she saw the section commanding officer, Ensign Costa look at them in surprise while still holding a plastic plate on his hand and a soda can on the other. By the time the hamburger and fries fell on the floor and he was racing to catch the squad Markovitch had already reached the top metal hatch. 

Close to the Demarcation Line, North Pacific

Moving his right arm on the water that filled the cargo section of the Triton, Petty Mellow was gesticulating with his gloved fingers to read the message that had just arrived from base. The Triton was already on its downward run towards the landing zone close to the detected USO and the screen was the only way to maintain communications with the base. It had been designed by Cyberweb based on the targeting and navigational computers that had equipped Earth's own advanced fighter craft. The lack of Elerium to power then had made them useless but Cyberweb had rescued the concept of the operator using its limbs to enter information instead of a keyboard or control stick. It was also impractical to use the tri-dimensional virtual reality helmets or visiscreen technology when the Triton was flooded so he was facing a thick plastic display with a slight inclination. As he finished he stopped to consider it but a bump on his shoulder from a figure also dressed on aqua-plastic armor momentarily distracted him. 

Ensign Costa had also noticed that a message had arrived and had gotten up from his seat and moved close to Mellow to read it. The officer started knocking on the petty officer's shoulder but he ignored the tapping until it got too much. Shaking the ensign's hand off his armor he started to consider what he should do as he reread it. 

SONAR HAS PICKED ANOMALOUS SIGNATURE CLOSE LZ. MEDIUM POSSIBILITY THERE'S A SECOND UFO TYPE UNKNOWN. DISPATCHING BARRACUDA ONE TO INVESTIGATE AND PROVIDE COVER. PROCEED ACCORDING TO PLAN. OVER.

The words on the message of Commander Parkenson didn't betray what Mellow knew. The mission of the fighter sub would be to shoot down any of the alien craft that tried to flee from the area. Even if none of the USOs threatened the Triton as it approached the location his squad would still have to fight the crews of two alien subs. And there were unofficial reports of mammoth USOs lurking on the oceans, some of them so powerful that all Barracudas that had tried to take a shot a them had been destroyed. 

The motion sensors placed by Cyberweb to replicate the use of finger movement caught the movements of his hand and the software translated them into a command to call up a list of possible communication messages. A list scrolled on the screen until Mellow chose a signal to confirm acceptance of the message and another to enquiry for the possibility of reinforcements. The answer came a few seconds later. 

WORKING ON THAT. GOOD LUCK. OUT.

Mellow wished he could tell Parkenson to stick his good luck into his own ass instead. The detection of the second contact must had finally put the base on alert and ended the deck party but it was too late for them to be able to send any help at the minute. Even the maintenance crews had taken a break and repairs were already behind schedule. The combat squads would also be lazy and tired after the deck party. Good luck meant that for now they were on their own. 

The ensign was still at his side and looking down at the screen. When he finally looked towards Mellow the petty erased the message with his left hand and raised his right index finger to the location on his helmet in front of his nose telling Costa to be quiet about it. There wasn't much that both of them could do otherwise since it would be too complicate to explain the situation to the troopers and it also meant that they wouldn't be too nervous right before going into battle. Mellow knew that it mattered especially in the case of rookies. He had already missed by a scratch being killed twice from the shots of a green soldier that had panicked when fighting the aliens and went into bezerking. In one case the petty officer leading the squad before him had died from the shots while on the other two soldiers had been seriously injured. When he looked at the thirteen other troopers inside the craft he was both confident on his experienced soldiers and fearful of the rookies and of ensign Mellow if the officer tried to take charge of the mission and countermand the petty's orders. Still there wasn't much that Costa could do in any case: all of the fireteam leaders   knew who really was in charge and they would comply with his gestures, not the officer.

The rookies worried him the most. There were four rookies on the three fireteams plus the big tall idiot brought along from 1st squad to haul extra rounds for his torpedo launcher. Looking at that rookie he wondered just what he had done to the idiot woman leading that squad to be assigned to this mission. Filing up an empty spot meant that the soldier usually was assigned next to the leading NCO instead of just cannon fodder since he was being 'loaned' and was expected to go back to his own squad. 

His gaze went back to the other soldiers. Marsden and Renton had too much rookies now and were fighting between themselves to see who would lead the squad. She already had enough missions to get promoted to leading seaman rank. The problem was that there were no vacancies for that position in the entire platoon and she wanted the promotion. Still they were trustworthy enough in case things went out of control, more than Barnby's squad since both Renton and Crazy T acted too much independently at times. Gutierrez team was the best of the three. Markovitch seemed to have been completely integrated and she was a tough fighter although with a serious attitude problem. Sometimes her words were more akin of the officers' tone. The woman clearly had some ambition for leadership that given time might even jeopardize his own chances for promotion. She had even been talking to the rookie that had been assigned to them and he had heard her giving him advice about the aliens and the battlefield. That was strange to Mellow but he decided that it wouldn't bring any harm in case the rookie gave a better fight before getting hit with a sonic projectile. 

At the end it didn't matter. He looked again at the screen to see if they had received any further messages. Seeing none he then waited as the Triton swam towards its target. 

Madhouse Rock, Pacific

As Lieutenant Braddock walked into the small commanding center onboard the base he took a brief look at the screen displaying the position of the Triton and saw to his satisfaction that the second USO had disappeared from the board. When he had walked in before to deliver to Captain Pak some papers for the officer to sign he had noticed the appearance of the second craft. As he approached Pak his eyes were wired into everything that was being presented on the computerized display of the Pacific Northwest. "What is it now Lieutenant?"

"The seamen have finished cleaning up the party". 

"About time". This base should have been gone completely operational an hour ago. Anything else?" Avoid looking at his eyes, Braddock gave a small nudge towards the screen and tried to sound casual. "How's it going?"

That seemed to please Pak who replied. "The USO disappeared. We think we might be picking a false echo on the sonar". 

"Sir, both Alaska's Militia and the US's naval command at San Diego reports that they haven't picked no signal of a second USO on their sonar arrays on the area. But they confirm that the initial craft is still landed at the same location". The seaman managing communications called. "Well, that's it then". Captain Pak concluded for all officers present on the control room of Madhouse to hear and the matter of the second contact was dropped. X-Com's sonars were once considered state of the art when the first bases had been established throughout the globe but after four years they were not state of the art anymore. Both the US and the PRA had upgraded their sensor arrays on the area a number of times and they were assumed to have better listening capabilities plus a closer location to the demarcation line. 

Braddock excused himself then and while he left the room he felt relieved. The whole matter had been a surprise although it had been successfully dealt with. The team would be on its way by now and they would find nothing. Going back to his office he started to relax since the whole matter had started that morning. 

Close to Queen Charlotte's Island, Canada

It had been the second time that the dark blue figure of petty Mellow had lurched forward on his seat to examine the communications and sensor console and that made Markovitch starting to wonder what was the content of the messages he had received. Something unexpected had come up on their way to the target. Those last-minute communications were only made in case of a calling back of the mission or if complications had arrived. Since they hadn't been recalled it could only mean that something had happened and she wished that Mellow or the ensign would inform the rest of the squad of the content of the message. Their silence told her that it wasn't their intention back then and now they only ordered all combat teams to be ready to deploy. 

The Triton was only about ninety feet below the surface of the sea and that surprised Markovitch as she looked at the depth meter built on top of the main hatch of the craft. They had flooded their helmets, which was procedure to deploy at greater depths than this one. They could have fought instead using air to breathe that would have also allowed then using the sonar communications devices. _There was something else going around at a different depth we were made ready to deploy to both situations._ Now it made sense why they were being deployed breathing liquid although it wasn't necessary at this lower depth. Unlocking the safety on her harpoon rifle she grabbed a railing on the wall to secure her position while the Triton landed. 

Unlike all touchdowns she had experienced so far this one wasn't like the smooth descend was accustomed but she felt something bruising against the hull of the craft that caused a disturbance on the water. As the Triton felt it got worse with twitching sounds as it finally rested in a somewhat smoother landing than she was waiting for. However there was a slight list portside and when the doors opened she blessed that they hadn't brought the SWS since they would have to dig through the sand for the tank to clear the hatch.

Renton's team were already half way in clearing the space and deploying when she crossed the hatch and found herself in the middle of an aquatic jungle.

The Triton's automatic pilot controls had brought it down in the middle of something Markovitch had never imagined it could happen. She was moving through large trunks of algae tall enough to be the same size of small trees and close to the surface large leaves covered the surface of the sea, allowing small patches of sunlight to break through but giving the feeling of a darkness where a living mass swiveled erratically around her. She immediately looked to Gutierrez knowing that they simply couldn't be racing around otherwise they'd get completely lost and he saw him telling everyone to hold down their positions. She immediately looked searching for the new rookie that had replaced her. He had remembered to keep always Gutierrez on sight and was also waiting with his rifle ready. _Take it easy kid._ He was definitely holding it tight so far although he fighting hadn't started yet.She was glad he was. If he has shot down she would have to move forward and play scout in the middle of this forest and her leg was holding up so far but she didn't want to take the risk of trusting it would hold out fine. 

When the ensign and the petty stepped out of the Triton they also seemed at a loss to react to the forest around them. _We need to hit them with everything we got now!_ The ensign tried to protest while Mellow punched some orders with his arms. He was telling them that they should disperse and clear the area. It pissed her off since she knew that they should simply advance until they found the aliens and attack them. She felt closer to be fighting on a jungle with all the kelp algae that surrounded the troopers. 

Holding a position far to her left side, Crazy T wrestled uneasily to clear the barrel of his gas cannon free from the floating leaves and branches that littered the bottom of the sea. He was barely managing to maintain visual contact with his fireteam leader and knew that he was covering that entire flank. As they moved forwards his anxiety started to rise as the other soldiers completely vanished from his sight. Then the corner of his eye picked up movement.

Steadying himself on his feet as he turned his weapon he immediately tracked a dark swimming shape that glittered for a second as it passed below the light of a clear surface patch. 

The recoil from the discharge of first gas HE round made him tremble a bit as his right feet slipped down a loose dead branch on the sandy bottom. Hissing as it sped towards the target the warhead detonated as it missed the figure and struck a group of kelp halfway to the moving figure. His verbal curses only come out as low mumbles due to the liquid he was breathing and as he searched again for the alien he discovered that had vanished from sight. But they were also overshadowed by the sound of the explosion of the grenade. 

Petty Mellow already knew that they were in trouble before the rumble of the high explosive reached his position. While they had been advancing he had lost any visual sight with his fireteam leaders plus both Costa and the rookie. The direction of the noise told him that it was Barnby's team that had made contact with the aliens. Grabbing his torpedo launcher steadier he moved towards the position through the kelp forest.

Moving as quickly as possible across the field Markovitch wondered with no more shots had been overheard after the first one and she was starting to think that someone had confused something else for an alien. She had just entered a somewhat clearer section in the middle of the kelp as she saw also the same figure that Crazy T had seen, a sleek dark creature with a tail and limbs. 

She dropped her weapon when she realized that she was looking at a brown sea otter that had just immediately flipped his body and sped towards the protection of the large leaves. 

Someone had seen the sea otter as well. 

A harpoon bolt flew from Renton's fireteam direction as a nervous and inexperienced rookie mistook the aquatic mammal for an alien and discharged his weapon at it. It missed badly but the sound of the round's propulsion jet jumped started the entire squad into action since their nerves were already alerted by the initial gunfire. The waters became alive with the cracking noise made by the Gauss rounds, together with the long hisses and puffs of the older gas and hydro jet operated weapons. A second afterwards another sound joined them as explosions rocked the giant algae and burst several trunks tearing the leaves down with the ripple waves from the blasts disturbing the ones still standing upwards. As Markovitch looked for the otter she couldn't see its sleek shape anymore amongst the bubbles formed by the explosions and a floating green mass composed of shredded and blasted algae leaves and branches. 

The X-Com troopers couldn't find any targets and they just kept shooting at anything in front of them that moved. For seconds the area around their positions was simply blasted by every weapon on the squad as Markovitch crouched down to avoid getting hit by a stray shot. A muffled thud told her that even the petty had fired his torpedo launcher. She got more worried since all of the commotion they were wrecking on the area would signal the aliens their location. 

The low whining of the general recall sound made her to get back up as the soldiers in the kelp forest stopped shooting and looked at their team leaders for orders. Gutierrez was standing several yards also at the edge of the clearer area but her attention was on a blue figure that rested again the bottom of the ocean with his helmet releasing a constant stream of air bubbles. Close to him, petty Mellow was running to reach the position of the fallen X-Com soldier. 

By the time the NCO reached the light blue downed figure he could see that it was bad. Not because of the loss of air since they were breathing liquid and it didn't matter but because of the red blood that was flooding into the water. It was the rookie they had brought along from first squad. _Damn!_ Mellow muttered as he took out the glove and tried to feel the rookie's vital signals. No pulse and sign of no breathing. 

A quick examination of the body turned the story: the man had been shot at the back but the shot hadn't stopped at the breathing equipment carried on the backpack. It had carved into the rookie's spinal cord and severed the neural connections of the brain to underneath the neck. His body had simply stopped working and there was nothing they could. But Mellow wondered about who had fired the shot. The wound didn't have the cauterized look of a sonic round but instead the bloody edges of a Gauss one. As Mellow saw a trooper in dark blue armor moving forward with his weapon lowered he knew he had the answer. 

He got up and looked at the approaching X-Com troopers he was about to mention them that the rookie was KIA but as one of them stopped suddenly he started to pay attention to it also. 

A low rumbling could be heard after the noise of the explosions had subsided like the sound of water being dropped on a hot plate. There was something burning hot below the sea and it could was close. But what could it be? There were no reports of underwater volcanic activity reported at this region. Mellow suddenly realized that they were against a large USO, not one of the smaller scouts. Then he saw it for the first time and was shocked at how close it was. They had been looking at the level of the bottom but the craft was tall and large enough to stand out in the middle of the darkened kelp forest. Pointing towards it he started issuing orders to the rest of the squad and deal with the death of the rookie later. 

The dark yellow hull of the USO resolved itself against the green mass as Milinic moved closer to it with Markovitch keeping an eye in case any alien decided to pop up of the kelp. She had never seen a two level type of craft before and this one stood at more than twenty feet, about two-thirds of the height of the green trunks. The thing could even have more levels but the branches made them invisible. As the rookie circled the craft as Gutierrez was ordering to she felt a sea urchin below one of her feet and dropped to her knees to remove the sharp spikes that had become impaled in the sole of her boot. They weren't hard enough to penetrate the rubber suit but they made it difficult to get a steady position for her feet. Her leg was already a bit too stiff to her liking but so far she had made it out with no problems. 

Quickly moving in the direction of the rest of her team she found that the rookie was by now keeping an eye at a pair of twin doors that stood on what she assumed was the stern of the craft. The aliens had a tendency to place the entrance to their USOs on that location. 

The rest of the squad was also catching up and when she and Milinic stood by both sides of the doors they had ready half a dozen men ready to support their entry. 

Pressing her hand against the yellow metal she activated the touch mechanism that controlled the movement of the door and it sent the tough aqua plastic plates sliding into their positions inside the hull and revealing a dark interior. Both soldiers raised their harpoon rifles and stepped inside as Kern finished switching the ammo on his gas cannon into armor piercing rounds more suitable for close combat. On his side the dark blue figure of Gutierrez had his bright gray Gauss readied also.

The doors led into a large chamber with bright green walls that stood for more than fifteen feet height and where two small balconies could be seen leading into the upper level of the craft. A pair of entryways was below the rectangular openings as the chamber squeezed in the middle of the craft and the team split up in pairs and each one approached the middle of the craft. 

_Where are the aliens?_ She kept waiting for the green figure of a Gillman or an Aquatoid to pop out and start shooting at the soldiers but so far they had by now reached a flight of stairs that led into the upside chamber that they had spotted from the entry doors. There were dark marks on the walls as if stray shots had hit them but that was impossible since the X-Com soldiers hadn't discharged yet their weapons inside the craft. 

As Milinic light blue suit started climbing the stairs carefully she waited below to check on a pair to closed doors that led into another compartment at the bow of the craft. They also opened easily and a quick look told her that the inside was also dead but not empty like the rest of the craft. The rectangular shapes placed on the floor of the chamber were the ones she had seen before on other craft and that were the USO's propulsion systems. But unlike the intact ones she had seen these ones were mangled and destroyed with the metal still releasing streams of bubbles. The lights mounted on her helmet also picked more dark stains on the green metal but the hull hadn't been breached by the explosions something also surprising since Zrbite usually exploded with quite a large destructive power. The force of the blast had been quite recent since there was still parches of something burning up on the wall that bathed the chamber in an orange light. The substance could only be phosphorous or something that generated heat enough during the combustion to even burn underwater. The temperature of the water on the chamber was more akin to a jacuzzi so she decided to leave.

She stepped back next to the flight of stairs and saw Mellow already onboard the craft and at the beginning of the stairs. Waving one hand in front of her she told him that it was clear and then followed him upstairs.

The upper level of the USO consisted of the bridge and two small chambers from which troopers had just come out from and giving the all clear sign. The bridge of the ship had also been blasted apart and in some cases she wondered if grenades had been used. But there was a complete absence of alien bodies or their weapons. The entire vessel was nothing more than a 'ghost ship' and the alien crew was either dead or had vanished without a trace. Mellow and the other troopers also seemed at a loss as they looked all around the craft. __

_What has happened back there? _The question rummaged through Markovitch's mind as she sat on the Triton and opened her helmet. After the troopers had spent nearly two hours combing through the kelp forest they had found no trace of the aliens and were now heading back to Madhouse after the recovery teams had started loading the nearly empty hulk of the USO. With the exception of the rookie's death it had been a most uneventful mission although that would change when the team got back at the base and the whole matter of the friendly fire incident was investigated. The helmet cracked open and a flood of breathing liquid came down her chest and slid down the seat until it joined the ever-growing pool that was on the bottom of the Triton.

Markovitch waited until the breathing gear had cleared the helmet of the fluorocarbon liquid with her mouth closed. Petty Mellow had finally ordered the squad to go back to air breathing as the mission was over and the Triton was already on its way back to Madhouse. Around her she heard the soldiers coughing as she finally opened her mouth and started throwing away the liquid on her mouth and throat. 

As the involuntary muscles on her lungs started functioning they pressed the liquid still inside them over her trachea until it finally reached her larynx. The automatic reaction of her body was to expel the liquid and she started coughing nearly without control as more and more of it came from her lungs and was expelled amongst saliva to the bottom of the Triton. When she finally managed to regain control of her breathing she already had tears growing at the corner of her eyes. Looking past the water on them she found the rookie's worried face looking at her until she gave him a thumbs-up. He had been the first to clear the liquid and had nearly thrown-up, which would have been disastrous if it had happened at the beginning of the process but she had guided him in and he had managed to control it long enough until his lungs had cleared all liquid. Then he had thrown up the floor of the Triton completely. Most likely Mellow would assign him to extra cleaning detail when they arrived at the base.

The petty officer was already breathing normally again and looking down with his hair and mustache still completely wet from the liquid but from time to time he would look across the cargo section of the Triton. Markovitch could see to who he was looking. Everyone on the squad had also figured out by now what had happened before they had boarded the ghost alien ship. 

The body of the rookie had been placed against the wall that separated the cargo section from the frontal area of the transport craft. It had been wrapped up in one of the body bags that were which were a permanent gear item assigned to every Triton. Renton knew it also has he refused to look at anyone and simply stared at the black figure on the ground. In a sharp movement he removed the ammunition clip in anger and placed down the weapon next to him. Then he simply looked down in resignation during the rest of the flight as the rest of the crew also refrained from saying anything. 

October 17th, 2044

Norfolk, Virginia, US

"Enter". Delacroix removed his hand from the palm reader as he heard the command that came through the small speaker installed above the electronic identification device. The metal door slipped to let him inside the small alcove that led him into the personal office of the deceased Admiral Koles that now had been occupied by Commodore Gregory Paris, the interim commander of X-Com. 

As the door closed behind him he relaxed and waited for the scan to be complete. Commodore Paris had ordered the addition small chamber recently to the office and it was a weapons detector in case any other attempt was made at X-Com's commanding officer. The sensors imbedded on its walls were capable of detecting any metal, plastic, chemicals or biological agents present on Delacroix's body and clothes that might be a threat. In case the computer system detected any, the twin doors would stay closed and prevent any attempt of escape while a tranquilizer gas was released and a security team immediately detached to retrieve the person trapped inside. 

When the door in front of him finally opened, Delacroix knew as expected that he had passed the test. His eyes immediately scanned the antechamber that led into Koles's office and he noticed the changes since the last time he had been here. Now a pair of combat troops in blue aqua-plastic armor stood by the door fully armed with gray Gauss rifles that quickly snapped into attention has he walked inside the room. The ensign that was Paris' aide quickly rose from his chair on the right side but Delacroix simply ignored him and started walking towards the guards. "Commander, you may enter….". 

By the time he reached the door he had stopped paying attention to the junior officer. Both guards briefly looked at him from their aqua-plastics glass helmets, with one of them bringing up his eyes into the infinite while the second took a second longer. 

They didn't move from the front of the door so Delacroix simply stopped in front of them and said in a low voice. "Just don't take too long getting your asses out of there or I might get impatient". 

"Commander!" The shocked voice of the Ensign came from behind him. "You still need to present yourself to my desk. You are not following the new security protocols!" Half turning towards the smaller man, who now seemed to be completely dumbfounded. The doors swung open and the blond bearded figure of Commodore Paris appeared, wearing the white close fit trousers and jacket of staff officers. Pushing the soldiers aside the officer demanded: "What is going on here?"

Waiting in silence Delacroix simply took attention of the whole situation as the ensign tried to explain and made a fool out of himself. "Sir, I was explaining to the commander the new…" Jerking his hand back Paris ordered him to shut up. "Next time just allow the commander to enter my office, is that understood?" Then, not waiting for an answer he simply moved back inside with Delacroix stepping behind him and closing the doors. 

When he turned back towards the commanding officer he saw him standing up while scratching his rugged blonde beard. Giving a quick salute with his right hand, he said: "Lieutenant Commander Paul Delacroix reporting as ordered sir". 

Saluting back Paris replied. "You sure haven't changed in two years Delacroix. Your attitude is still the same. Please have a seat. We have business to discuss". The dark-haired man remained on his position, his dark blue suit and beret contrasting with the higher officers' whites. "What do you want sir?"

The attitude made Paris to shake his head and quit. "Fine, stay up if you like. Just remember one thing and just find a way to carve it into that mass of stone that you have for a brain. One thing is to bully those half-brained taddies out there with your pose. But I won't tolerate that sort of attitude inside this room, understood?" He tapped the admiral's pins on his lapel. "Those count for something else". 

Delacroix simply said nothing for one second then he relaxed his arms, moving them from behind his back and to his sides. "Sure Gregori. And by the way congratulations on your new position. Going from lieutenant commander to admiral in two years is quite an achievement. I doubt that any other officer in here would be able to achieve it. It takes a very special person to get to that position". 

The change of mood into a personal setting startled Paris. "Gregori? I don't recall giving you permission to address me with such familiarity commander". 

"Neither do I sir. But I've noticed that it seems one of the easiest ways to advance your career around here". Anger flashed on Paris eyes for one second as he caught the implicit implication on Delacroix's sentence. Then he shot back. "Do I detect a tone of resentment there commander? Are you angry that you're still at the same rank after two years while I've moved upwards to commodore?"

"Everyone has their own personal merits, admiral. You probably have mistaken the tone of my voice. If so I apologize for any misinterpretation that you might have understood. I only meant that it's a well known fact in every job, either military or civilian, that you won't get promoted unless you play along with the rest of the team, admiral". 

A sleazy grin on Paris's lips told Delacroix that he had just said what the other man had just heard what he wanted. _Or at least what he thinks he wants. _"Indeed it is. Yes indeed it is. Don't call me admiral yet, Paul. Until the Council approves it I'm still a commodore". _The only thing missing are actually the signed papers that confirm you as admiral. _Delacroix added mentally, since he had already noticed the newly minted insignia on the collar of the other man and his name and rank on the door. "I'm sure you'll be their first choice for the position…Gregori". He twisted the sound of the name it made Paris to give him again a hard look as confusion took the man about if Delacroix was simply being nice or simply sarcastic. But the neutral tone of his voice didn't give more of an argument for the superior officer. He quitted after a second and headed back to his desk. 

"In any case, there are some decisions right now that are within my power as a commodore and that I must take. As you know the base is in need of a combat operations officer after Captain Canteno was killed a week ago by that alien sniper in the Bermudas". 

"I regret to inform the admiral that I'll have to decline the offer, sir". Paris kept his bewilderment well conceived, thought the officer as Paris digested his refusal. 

"Now wait a minute Delacroix. You know how much we have pushed the several councilmen to replace Koles by a more competent officer. The same happens to the majority of the combat commanders on this outfit and now you are telling me that you have to refuse the position. Why?" _Because you need a scapegoat that can be used at any time in case things turn sour and you know just enough about me to transform me into one. _It was true that him and a number of other officers had been most critical of Koles and her overall strategy. They had held informal meetings off base to discuss the matter and Paris had been one of the attendants. Delacroix had immediately tagged him since then as an opportunist, someone smart enough to recognize the way the mob was turning and place himself on front to reach a higher seat. So far Paris hadn't gone against his initial assessment of him but he didn't matter since it also made the superior officer predictable and like any soft-bellied politician absent of ideas very susceptible to hear any ideas that would contribute to his personal improvement. 

"You know my background. I only wish to defeat the aliens and preferably with my own hands. I don't want to get myself assigned to a position that is almost useless to the war effort. Land force commanders are nothing more than paper pushers around here". _Which is about what I have to do know, unless I want to risk going to the field with a bunch of half-trained soldiers that care more about getting their bonus payments at the end of the month than to actually kill the aliens. _Although Delacroix was officially listed on the X-Com roster as a combat officer, he hadn't been placed in charge of any unit or department but had been instead assigned to the pathetic section that was supposed to be handling military intelligence. He considered the title of the S-2 section as double misleading. Not only the personnel assigned to it made no effort to even try to look military but also their IQs rated slightly more than those of a clam. Instead the unofficial tasks given to him by Williams had been of gathering as much information as possible regarding the aliens and taking care of special operations. 

"You know, your talking about paper pushing is something weird, considering what your current assignment is". Knowing that Paris wouldn't quit just yet he simply made a grimace. "We need to know as much as we can from them. Then," he made a fist with his right hand and struck his left palm with it in a quick movement that nearly made Paris jump on his chair, "we destroy all traces of their presence on this planet". Paris knew it well that he simply couldn't give any order to him since he felt off his command and he also knew what his true motivations were.  "I thought you were past that inquisitor stuff". Rubbing his hand against his white coat he continued. "Look Paul, what I truly need is someone who can stir things a bit around here, who can talk to the several currents of opinion that right now we have among the force' officers". _You need someone who can control the most radical ones amongst us. _Like Delacroix, a number of officers and soldiers inside X-Com had either belonged to the Inquisitors' movement and everyone in the council knew it, although no one had ever bothered to investigate their hidden background. When the aliens had resurfaced on 2039 he had simply asked for reassignment from the Navy to X-Com and other former members who were in the military had also do the same. _But the truth is: you can't do it. Nobody can. _And that because no one knew how far X-Com was filled with former inquisitors since they all acted independently from one another and each had their own opinions on how to deal with the aliens and all things related to them. "You know what I'm talking about don't you?" 

"I can guess sir. However I doubt that I'd be of much assistance on that matter". _Which is the truth after all. _"You'll just have to find some other officer better suited for the job". _And watch out your back because otherwise someone might get pissed if you try to manipulate them. _Delacroix's attention moved back towards the scanning chamber. _Or maybe you're smart enough to already know that._

When he looked back to Paris, the commodore was giving in an appraising look but he quickly concealed it. Drawing his attention back to the corridor, he stuffed his hands inside his pants pockets and started wondering just how smart his commanding officer might be. Paris seemed to concede defeat but before he dismissed Delacroix, the younger officer stepped in the conversation again. "Very well. In that case, let's go back to the other subject of why I'm here. Have you seen the top secret report from Madhouse concerning their latest USO recovery?"

The mention to the Hunter vessel that had been recovered by Markovitch and her squad puzzled Paris. "You mean the 'ghost ship'?" What makes it so special? Most likely the aliens had some sort of a technical malfunction and the crew abandoned the craft before the Triton arrived".

"Commodore, the squad reported that they saw sonic blast marks all over the hull of the craft before it was dismantled by the recovery teams". None of the twenty people working on MI had noticed that small detail on the report or they had dismissed it. "Now, unless I'm mistaken only the aliens mount sonic weapons on their craft. Something fired those weapons at the USO, either to force its landing or when it had already set down".

Paris fidgeted scornfully before speaking "Commander, get one thing straight from this moment on. I'm not Admiral Koles and I know that she would pay no attention to this recovery. I'm still not sure of why I'm doing it myself but for the sake of not being accused to listen to any advice I'll let you go on with that idea since I'm sure that you must have a solid motive for it". 

"There's talk among the scientists that there might be a rift between Gillmen and Aquatoids and that both date back millions of years". 

Paris scowled again at him and spat in an ironic tone. "I wasn't aware that the Inspector General had approved such a line of research nor that the council had even discussed the official position regarding the alien's origins Commander". 

"Neither are they in possession of this information. On the contrary of you, that now have knowledge that things might be changing in the future". 

"The speculation regarding the alien's origins has been lasting for years commander! There is absolutely no proof…"

"The evidence will be brought forward in time, Paris". 

"Those are not proper ways to address a superior officer Delacroix!" The outburst made the security guard to open the door in preoccupation but the X-Com officer simply replied in a  neutral voice. "I apologize, sir. Still it will be up to you to decide on these matters. I shall take your time no more and request permission to leave". Paris was still trying to compose himself from his display of anger and simply nodded to him. Delacroix passed by a surprised trooper on his way out to who then closed the door. _Next time you are going to hear me out really good. _He intended to keep his own promise. 

****

André Galvão, 2003 


	7. Small Steps

X-COM: Abyssal

Chapter Six – Small Steps

"Editorial - Why we should be fearful

In the past four years we've been getting the same answers from our civilian and military leaderships concerning the war: "The aliens have surprised us at the beginning but we have contained them although the fighting will be hard and long".  
_The Hidden Truth_ has continuously denounced the situation and presented reports of how the reality is far more terrifying than the world's elites propaganda. We have also denounced the secret government whose dark agenda is tyrannizing humankind through their manipulation of the major media and control of the world's political and economical system.

In the past forty years it has been one long ride downwards for the planet that has been presented and accepted as "comprehensible due to our past mistakes and the conditions imposed upon us". And meanwhile the world's elites still managed to live in a way that most people of the last century would envy, as they sit on top of their control of the world's economy.

We have shown how the current situation with Alaska is nothing more than their power plays and whose US corporations are cooperating with the fake communist state that is as oppressive as our own government. And now further inside information have confirmed their latest plan to us. 

According to our sources inside X-COM there has been rumors of a split between the Aquatoids and the Gillmen, the two alien races that we have been battling since the beginning of the war. Some of the claims we heard were even more preposterous, stating that it has been scientifically determined how the Gillmen's presence predated humankind.  
Readers here might remember our own article on the question, called: "Who is back?", where we reported how alternative scientific reports were being banned from the research community. They stated that the aliens were a fruit of genetic manipulation done using materials taken from the bodies still kept from the Alien War. Those papers went further to explain how the official belief that the aliens were survivors was wrong but went largely ignored by the public.

Since three years ago our investigations have shown how the whole alleged second alien war is nothing more than a part of the plan of the elites for secret domination of Earth._The Hidden Truth_ has proved that the 'aquatic aliens' are nothing more than a cover for the elites' own devilish designs.

With help from researchers from throughout the globe as Dr. Eitensin, Dr. Wenton and Dr. Prelek we have proved that the aliens have been cloned and are under the control of human factions that are conducting a hidden battle for control of the planet.   
Now it seems that a new psy-ops operation is on their way to convince the public that there is another chance to win the war after the growing of public unrest seen during this year. Just imagine how wonderful it would be for moral if the humans had now one new ally on their 'heroic war'...

  
Copyright (c) The Hidden Truth Publications, October 2044"

October 21st, 2044

Fort Richardson, People's Republic of Alaska

After the pilot of the VTOL had shut down the engines of the sleek craft councilman Roberts got up from his seat as the ground crew opened the door and stood in attention as he left. The morning air was chilly, with the tarmac of the landing field still wet from last night's rain shower and Roberts zipped the front of the green parka he was wearing before walking towards the officer that was moving towards him from the line of troops that were standing on formation at the edge of the white marked heliport.

The Inuit officer saluted to him but unlike Roberts's return smile he kept his face neutral, standing in attention on his combat fatigues like the platoon assembled behind him. "Councilman Roberts, the 207th welcomes you sir!" Then he offered his hand and Roberts briefly shook it before both men moved down the first row of soldiers clad in their camouflaged uniforms and green berets, holding shiny gray rifles at their sides. 

As they moved down the line of soldiers Roberts couldn't stop notice that the majority had Inuit facial expressions, with dark eyes and smooth facial features. In fact, there were few Caucasians on the unit since each battalion drew most of its members from the tribal Inuit communities from where the unit was based. The 207th Scout Guards Group had a lineage that traced back to the second World War when the US Army had recruited Inuit scouts to patrol the five thousand miles of Alaska's coastline, first against the Japanese but afterwards to keep an eye on the only border that the US shared with the Soviet Union. At the time of the Alaskan succession the unit had rallied at the cry for independence of the former 50th state and its soldiers had played a key role in conducting guerrilla operations with hit and run attacks on the few US forces that had tried to oppose the creating of the new state. The 207th was the Green's Militia premier reconnaissance unit and response force to any attacks on the People's Republic with its battalions spread around the country. 

The whole process took less than a minute and Roberts would have liked to skip the ceremony to move forward to the matter that had brought him here from Juneau but he understood the need to respect the military's tradition since he needed the Colonel's collaboration for his headhunting mission. "Very impressive Colonel. Shall we now meet Captain Aulak?" The officer nodded in conceived reluctance, since he knew that he was about to loose one of its top captains but there wasn't much he could do about it. After accompanying Roberts at the HQ building of the base he guided him towards the briefing room where finally he spoke again. "Captain Aulak has been already notified and he's on its way to here. If you excuse me councilman I have other matters to attend to". Roberts simply nodded and a few brief moments after his departure, a soft knock was heard on the door before another officer on the green and gray uniform stepped inside and saluted. "Captain Aulak reporting as ordered sir!"

Seated on the chair Roberts didn't immediately reply but instead took a good look at the officer standing at the door. Aulak had been selected from a list of candidates his staff had assembled. He initially had preferred that they would choose a non-Inuit officer but Aulak's record was exemplary, having seen major action against US forces and the aliens plus he had shown extreme loyalty to the PRA, although his attitude towards Caucasians sometimes bordered on xenophobia and plain racism. 

"At ease Captain". He got up and offered his hand. "I am councilman Roberts". 

Aulak first look at his hand with suspicion but then took it on a black-gloved hand. As he came nearer Roberts noticed the man's gray eyes were looking at him with suspicion. After they sat down Roberts gaze fell upon him and that seemed to make Aulak slightly uncomfortable. "Captain, do you know why you have been summoned here?"

His reply was flat. "I have worked with Environmental Security before sir. I can imagine what this is all about". Roberts smiled, knowing that although he had been recruited for a number of black missions before by the PRA's intelligence agency, but this time it was different although the officer didn't know it. Locking his hands in front of him Roberts relaxed briefly before continuing. "Indeed you are right". Pausing, he continued. "Captain, I need you to perform a special mission for the People's Republic. Will you do it?"

"Yes sir!" Aulak nearly jumped into attention but Roberts simply looked carefully at him. "You are willing to accept it even without knowing what it is? I thought you smarter than that Captain".

The officer's eyes showed a brief flash of anger before he composed himself from Roberts' intentional barb. "Sir, whatever it is I am sure I can fulfill the mission". 

"Simply speaking, I want you to join X-COM Captain".

This time the officer's eyebrows contracted and his mouth twitched. "Councilman, without disrespect I would prefer to remain on the 207th. X-COM is nothing more than a armed rabble led by armchair officers. I believe I can defend the motherland better from the aliens if I remain here".

Now it was time for Roberts to become serious. "Indeed Captain. But there's more to this than simply taking a couple of shots at the aliens". In front of him on the table there was a manila folder that he pushed forward to Aulak with two fingers. As the officer picked it up and opened it he started speaking. 

"In there you are going to find a file about a particular X-COM officer, Lieutenant Commander Paul Delacroix". He recited from his memory some of the information on the file. "Born August 19, 2003, he was one of the oldest SEALs to graduate from their school in 2039. Spent one year on the Atlantic based teams before joining X-COM on 2040 where he was assigned to SORESO as a petty officer in charge of a squad. He's one of the few from those initial days that have been able to survive the aliens so far, and he was one of the first to earn a battlefield commission to ensign rank three months after his arrival. By 2042 he had already reached the rank of Lieutenant and was reassigned to Norfolk's X-COM combat team and on 2043 he was promoted to his present rank and was assigned to X-COM's High Command to O-2, Military Intelligence". 

"Sounds like an impressive career sir. But why are you so interested on him?"

Roberts paused for a minute. "He is one of the few competent officers on that organization. However there's more that you must know. While his career shows an impressive achievement over the past years there are some things here that don't fit the pattern of an officer on its way to the top. After Admiral's Koles death we have learned that he was offered the position of operations officer for Norfolk base, which would be the next step of ladder and would open the way for his promotion as a full Commander". Roberts pointed to the stack on papers in front of him. "However, he declined the offer, something that has gotten us curious about his real reasons".

Aulak shook his head. "I don't understand sir. Why do I need to know all this?"

"You're wrong and you're not here to question things Captain". The slow rebuke made Aulak silent. "On my duty as the councilman appointed to X-COM's Council I must ensure that the force can defeat the aliens. But above that there's my duty to the PRA. Understand this Captain, I expect that a lot of things are going to take place on X-COM over the next months and that man". He pointed to the folder that Aulak was holding. "Needs to be watched over, along with the rest that is happening at Norfolk. I need someone that can both report to me what he sees on the battlefield along with what is happening on the shore. The PRA's future might lay on it".

It took some moments before Aulak nodded in reply as Roberts already expected him to. "Understood sir. I will do my best".

October 20th, 2044

Madhouse Rock, Western Pacific

The steel deck party was nothing more of a memory now on the aquanauts' memories but the plastic furniture of the mess hall at the floating base now sported a couple more dents and mosses after it had been brought downwards after the short celebration. But the battering it was nothing that the chairs and tables hadn't endured so far. The surface of the large table where the members of the 3rd section boasted a one foot twisted hole made by a round of a Gauss pistol that had once accidentally been discharged by an eager rookie as he inspected it. Petty Mellow and the rest of the non-commissioned officers had grilled the trooper later and made him regret his carelessness but the sailors in charge of maintenance had been more practical. They had simply attached a metal tin can to the hard plastic and made an impromptu ashtray since most of them smoked. But the inside of the tray was clean as well as the rest of the dining section since it was too early yet for lunch. 3rd squad had just come off a combat shift that had gone uneventful unlike the previous days where the base had scrambled several combat missions. Most of the aquanauts had managed to get some sleep while waiting to get into action but the soldiers on the table had red eyes to show for the lack of sleep. But there were other things for them to worry right now besides sleeping. 

Looking down the cold remains of his coffee Markovitch decided that she had had enough of the stuff. The compartment stank of the fluid used by the base's deck crew and sometimes it made her stomach twist but it at this hour the place was empty and she was needing some isolation today.

 The preliminary board of enquiry to investigate the death of the rookie by friendly fire had been scheduled for that morning since the combat rosters and schedules hadn't allowed for it to happen before. Captain Pak was leading the interrogation of Renton, together with Lieutenant commanders Braddock and Gustafson. 

She had never been a part of a friendly fire incident before although her unit on the Gulf War had had a couple of accidents and she had been a witness to the board of enquiry so she could understand what Renton might be going through. But what was troubling her was her unexpected concern towards the leading seaman, who she thought was a major pain on the ass on occasion but also was one of the friendliest faces that she had seen since she had woken up on that terrible hospital ward back from hibernation. _Comradeship, it must be it. _Although she wasn't an officer any more she tried to consider natural to worry about a soldier on this case she had wondered if anything else was behind it. _Am I attracted to that jackass? No way! _

After she had been reawaken Camay and Williams had made her attend counseling sessions to help her to deal with the shock of Johnson's death and the adaptation to being forty years later on the future but she had found them close to useless since she felt no one could really understand her nor could she reveal what had happened to her because it was a secret. Most of her feelings still laid underneath, waiting to get out but she almost never allowed it except to escape the reality around her. But a small voice crept from inside making her shiver. _But he's gone. It's time to move on. He would have wanted you to keep living. _Shaking his head to clear it from the confusion she was feeling she noticed Chief Petty Agnello clearing one of the large entry hatchways. The NCO noticed her but headed towards the coffee table. 

Grabbing her cup she decided to ask him a couple of questions and joined him. "Good morning Chief Petty". 

Agnello gave her a nod and a hint of a smile as he waited for the dispenser to drop a portion of black liquid into the paper cup he was holding. "How are you doing Watkins? Shouldn't you be resting?"

"Rest of the squad has decided to get some sleep after last night's shift but I couldn't sir. I've been thinking about Renton sir". Agnello nodded showing that it had been also on his mind.  

"Well just came back from there. Commander Braddock was a bit hard on Renton as prosecutor but he got off with a reprimand along with Petty Mellow for losing control of the situation. That rookie should never been wondering through the battlefield like that and it was bad luck that he got into Renton's view". Relief went through Markovitch as her fears that the entire blame would be placed upon Renton. "Thank you sir".

"Things around here get tough on occasion Watkins". Grabbing his coffee he started to turn but added. "If ever need to talk just knock on my office". 

"Thank you again sir". 

"I'm nothing more than a servant of the Lord, seawoman". With that he left and crossed Renton, who was wearing his dark blue uniform. The seaman's face looked shrunken as saluted the petty officer, who gave a short pat on his shoulder and spoke a few words to his ear before leaving. 

Markovitch moved close to him. "Hey Renton, I just heard you got off lightly". He didn't reply and instead looked over her with a gazed expression. "Are you OK?" She asked afterwards but still there was no answer from him as he seated himself on a chair. 

"It wasn't your fault you know". She added, after joining him. 

Renton finally seemed to take notice of her, taking off his dark blue beret and setting it on the table. "You know? I have pointed firearms at people before I joined X-COM but I never had actually shot anything but aliens. Until now". 

His voice made her alarmed. "You fired at an unidentified figure in the middle of a confrontation. You made a mistake". 

"No, I dropped him. I should have recognized the helmet at that distance or the color of his  suit but I simply saw and pulled the trigger. That simple". 

"It's never that simple, Renton. Every time we fire at the aliens we do it because we know they aren't humans and they want to kill us. You have more than a justifiable motive to kill them and it shields you from any remorse from doing it. We are the ultimate mercenaries on the world: we kill for a job and get back to the base and talk about it like basketball results".

He pushed his chair backwards in frustration. "Is that talk supposed to help me Watkins? Because it sure isn't". 

"What I want to say is that you've made a mistake because you're conditioned to kill anything that you consider a threat. Otherwise you'd be dead by now. That rookie should never had been wondering alone through the battlefield like that. You saw him and thought that the aliens were about to attack us by the rear. You took out the threat". 

"I fired on his back!" The veins on his thick neck seemed ready to pop out. 

"Killing humans should never be easy but it's a burden for the rest of your life. Otherwise we're nothing better than the aliens". 

He stared at her for a second before deciding to end the argument. "I guess". Looking at her carefully he asked. "Where have you fought before? You're no half-ass trained rookie, I could tell that from your first combat mission". 

_Careful! _"A couple of wars here and there. No big deal". 

"Alaska succession?"

"No. I was never involved on that": 

"You don't look like it also. Most vets from that war I know don't want anything to do with X-COM and refuse to serve with Yankees. Too much bad blood". 

The way he told the word referring to Americans made her remember the flight to Madhouse and the Alaskan rookie she had met there. "I didn't know you were Alaskan".

He shrugged his shoulders. "There are a lot of us here. Nearly all troopers and seaman come from both the US and Alaska and unless you're a fucking Eskimo it's hard to tell the difference although with officers it's a different matter since they try to pick neutral people. No one really wants to make an issue of it although there had been a couple of fights without the officers knowing it. Agnello and the other petty officers simply close their eyes while we blew out a little steam but are ready to put the incident down if it gets out of proportion".

"You don't seem to care much about other Alaskans".

For the first time he smiled although it was an ironic grin. "Why should I? After they finally busted me for a number of robberies the judge gave me the choice of spending the better part of my life in jail or to join the military. The Green Militia wouldn't take me because of my criminal record but X-COM wasn't too picky. For me this is as good as it gets since I'm stuck here until I either die or this war ends". 

"Don't count on that. Here you're stuck even if you die". Her tone made him curious. "You know Watkins I might not be a fucking genius but there's something about you. You talk like if you've been thought this already". 

_And I still am. _She wanted to add but kept quiet looking at his dark eyes. Then she got up from the chair. "Gotta go. Keep it cool".

"I will". Her back was already turned towards him as he replied but she barely heard it. 

October 25th, 2044

Kodiak Island, People's Republic of Alaska

Alaska's Arctic oil fields represented one of the world's last known reserves of the fossil fuel and an essential lifeline for the People's Republic survival as an independent country. The drilling had started since the discovery of the Prudhoe Bay fields in 1968 and by 2020 all fields had been surveyed and where in operation to satisfy the US and the world's needs for oil. Since 1960's that the geologists had known that the rate of oil production would decline one day even with the discovery of new reserves. As the growth of the world's population increased it required more and more oil and one day the demands would grow higher than supply and that the growth couldn't be reversed. At the end of the First Alien War the situation wasn't still serious and there was enough oil for the economy to expand since new reserves were being discovered. Also it was widely believed that the discovery of Elerium would provide Earth with a new energy source that would resolve Earth's problems.

But the fact that E-115 wasn't natural to the Solar System and that it was impossible to artificially manufacture it or to travel to the stars to look for it quickly ended that public belief. Earth had to get back to oil and its widely uses, ranging from agriculture fertilizers, individual transportation and electrical power generation soon meant that the world had just experienced its first energy crisis. A change of priorities had by then been taken by the world to focus on other energy sources less expensive than oil, whose price had tripled since the "Oil Cartel" had taken the initiative of reducing production in order to preserve their own strategic reserves and increase the revenues. Although massive construction of nuclear and coal operated power plants and restrictions placed upon individual transportation to reduce the dependence on oil, the world's economy had gone into depression on 2029, exactly one century after the New York Stock Exchange crash in 1929. The situation had further deteriorated as world's temperatures kept increasing and leading into the receding of glaciers and the rising of the level of the oceans, with some Pacific nations completely disappearing as their homes sank under the growing masses of water. 

The oil drilling and coal digging had also devastated large areas of the planet as spillovers occurred and vast stretches of land now were gutted open after the machines had finished collecting the coal and tar sand deposits close to the surface. Nuclear fusion, the energy that powers the stars, wasn't still a viable option so that meant that nuclear fission had to be used instead. There had been already a second Chernobyl type incident in China involving the release of radioactive particles to the atmosphere but it had been a lesser catastrophe as the winds had carried them to the uninhabited areas of Siberia and Mongolia with few civilian casualties.

To the "Oil Cartel", the informal group of oil-producing nations of which the People's Republic of Alaska was a member, the situation of their reserves was stable to last for a couple more decades, with the benefit of the enormous profits earned since they only changed oil production levels to decrease them, never to allow more oil into the market than the one necessary to keep inflation under control, something that had hit back the former OPEC on the 1970s since they had found out that their raise of the oil prices had hurt them back also from the economic depression it had provoked. The Antarctic wars, the Middle-East Reunification Wars, the Second Central African war, Indonesia's disintegration and other minor conflicts of the XXI century had largely been made for economic reasons: there was a very clear idea of how much resources the planet had left and where they were located. Some, like oil and some metals, would start to become rare in a few decades and their lack could paralyze a country's economic activity. For matters of efficiency most of the economic activity had been centralized into major corporations, a trend that had extended itself into politics. Smaller countries had been taken over by larger ones, in a process replicating corporate mergers, with the difference that the hostile take-overs meant armed conflict. On the aftermath of thirty-five years of world instability X-COM's Council of Funding was one of the remaining international bodies that possessed any credibility or power since its initial sixteen nations had represented more than ninety percent of the world's population and land area. The few areas that were still uncontrolled were composed of either lawless territory or rebel nations who were ignored for the most part like the skeletal remains of the United Nations that had long lost any credibility on international affairs. 

When the PRA had succeeded from the US in 2026 their leaders had immediately nationalized all production facilities on Alaskan territory, provoking the ire of all US oil corporations who had pushed for US troops to reclaim back the rebel state to the union. The heavy continued fighting on the demarcation line had ceased years ago but there were still major confrontations occasionally such as the sinking of two US carriers by the Alaskans three years ago. 

But for the personnel that manned Alaska's main refinery located at Kodiak Island on the southern coast of the country they didn't had to fear any attack from the Americans because of their geographic location and also because no one on its right mind would attack a facility whose production was so vital and expensive. The refining and docking facilities for the oil tankers sprawled over a large area of cylindrical oil and ball shaped gas containers linked by steel conducts to the refinery itself located farther inland. Millions of barrels of oil were received each day coming from the Prudhoe fields upon in the north and through the Trans-Alaskan pipeline to Kodiak island and also from the underwater drills and surface platforms that reached for the precious material buried underneath the sea shelf. Upon reaching the facility the oil would be broken into its several components, ranging from gasoline to diesel oil and all sorts of lubrificants and hydrocarbon compounds to be later processed by other industries on the mainland or throughout the globe. All of those would found their way into the hulls and tanks of the transport ships and tankers anchored off shore through the pipelines that were connected to floating buoys. If the northern Pacific Ocean was the basis of the Alaskan economy, the refineries at Kodiak Island were literally the pipeline that allowed it to funnel its food and oil exports to the Asian nations of Neo Japan and Free China. But the tensions between the US and the PRA on the Pacific made it costly and risky for ships to travel on area, with London's Lloyd's charging premium prices for insurance to vessels operating on the area. There had been confrontations on the past between the smaller Alaskan Navy corvettes and submarines and the larger US Navy war vessels and no captain was too willing to risk its ship into sailing into a potential combat area. 

On the contrary, Prudhoe Bay was a literal safe harbor since it was located above in the northern coast of Alaska, which allowed it to take advantage of the northern western passage. Since the seventeen-century that sailors that had dreamed of a northern route that would allow ships to cross from the Atlantic to the Pacific but the ice sheet of the Artic had deemed it impossible. However the melting of the polar ice cap had turned that possibility into a reality and now ships regularly used the passage to link Alaska with Europe and Africa. But now the attacks made by the aliens threatened to cause difficulties to the pressed Alaskan economy and forced a greater use of Kodiak despite its close location to the demarcation line. 

Due to the fact that it was the major oil facility on the Pacific only ships under Alaskan flag were allowed into the area and those were subject to a close scrutiny by the Alaskan security. The PRA considered the area to be a national asset and that area of Kodiak Island was sealed off and patrolled around the clock by security forces. Subs and corvettes of the Green People's Navy also patrolled the sea but the naval traffic swarming both ways made it a strenuous task.

Below the ocean surface sonar hydrophones had been placed to detect any possible intruders but by a coincidence of both luck and the characteristics of its hull, they hadn't detected yet the large alien craft that was now only twenty miles from its target. The metal that formed its skin reacted differently to the water unlike the steel and titanium of human submarines and it contained noise emissions coming from the inside of the submarine. Outside a magnetic field shot the USO through the water creating an invisible bubble that slid over the water molecules around it nearly soundlessly. 

The approach of ships was further masked its approach as it was riding close to the surface on a less cold layer than the bottom waters than the listeners placed on the ocean shelf. The area had a very intense naval traffic and that for the technicians in charge of the sonars were more preoccupied with any sub trying to silently sneak close to the bottom than to listen to the noise of the oil tankers and cargo ships rumbling on the surface. 

The speed of the USOs' was the first thing that sent the software sending off alarms to the command post of the Green People's Navy detachment that was stationed to protect Kodiak while it was still ten nautical miles away from the island. The operators had heard of the USO's impossible underwater speeds as they plotted the craft's velocity at more than 700 knots per hour but for most it was the first time they had actually tracked a hostile contact. An emergency dispatch was immediately sent to the nearby submarine base, which kept a pair of _Barracuda_-class attack boats on ready-five alert status plus the regular patrols. But by the time the crews had reached their craft the USOs had already covered the rest of the distance to Kodiak Island. A pair of high-velocity DUP head torpedoes were launched but the sonar seeker heads of the weapons quickly lost their targets as the sleek alien craft emerged from the cold, dark Pacific waters half a mile from the shore. As their targets vanished and to prevent any civilian casualties on the ships that now were being warned of the situation and called off the harbor, the torpedoes' AI unit automatically gave the command for self-destruction, provoking two large underwater explosions whose rumble was heard all over the harbor. The sailors and technicians that were dispersed between the moored ships and the loading docks suddenly looked in shock at the USOs as they flew over them to release their deadly cargo. Ten minutes later more explosions shook the refinery as the still shocked security forces finally started to respond to the attack. 

North Pacific

The alien attack on Kodiak Island had been raging for hours while the Triton from Madhouse Rock was traveling towards the location as the base had been immediately alerted.

Petty Mellow was standing by the flight console on the cargo area and holding a heavy Gauss rifle instead of his usual torpedo launcher. Markovitch had never seen one of those so far. The weapon seemed cumbersome but he seemed to have to problem carrying it although the scowl on his face showed that he was worried and so was Markovitch. Gutierrez had explained to her that the harpoon weapons like her rifle would still work over water but she still felt unsure about using it on a conventional fight. Plus they were using their water suits and their light blue color completely dismissed any thoughts of camouflage plus the lack of their helmets meant that their heads were completely unprotected.

"Like fish on dry land hum?" Kern stood next to her as always but instead of the jet harpoon cannon he had switched like the others to a gas cannon whose shells were propelled by a long burst of the charge on housed on their bottom. 

"These clam heads back at base have no notion of reality. We could fight better if we had conventional weapons and flak jackets". 

"Yeah, file a complaint Watkins. Who knows, maybe they will listen to ya. And while you're at it ask also for world peace". Kern stood at his feet like the rest of the others and holding one of the several leather straps that hung from the ceiling. A sudden hop made him stagger and she had to move and grab him on the shoulder to help him steady. The tip of the barrel of his weapon also poked at Ensign Costa's face, who glazed in annoyance at them. The Colaecanth tank was completely useless, except for the Aquatoids to have some target practice, since its torpedo launchers were designed to work inside water. So Mellow had to press the entire squad into service, including the helpless officer who was supposed to be the deputy commander of the entire unit.

But both Markovitch and Kern quickly ignored the officer as everyone inside the Triton was suddenly projected sideways as the flying craft made a quick change of course. "Ensign, where the hell are you taking us?!" Mellow was angry enough and looked at the wall on the direction of the cockpit, although he couldn't access it since it was sealed from the main body of the Triton. "Turn back to that LZ! Now!"

The reply came soon afterwards as the pilot finally steadied the flying sub. "No can do petty. The Militia's commander ordered us off by the radio". He spoke in a casual manner but Mellow's answer was more emphatic as his head started turning red, something that didn't went unnoticed by many of the soldiers as they eavesdropped in the conversation to try to find out what was going on. "Tell the Militia to go screw themselves! This is our jurisdiction!" Mellow apparently had forgotten that Books had command of the mission until he dropped them off, after which they weren't any of his concern anymore, only the craft. 

"Petty, hold on your pants". Quite a few soldiers felt the urge to laugh at the officer's comment since but by now they had all activated the tactical radios that they used on the low-depth missions where they breathed oxygen instead of the liquid fluorocarbon mix. No one dared although a couple of grins were passed through as Mellow addressed the squad inside the flying sub as it turned to a different heading.  

"We just got reassigned. The remaining aliens broke through the Militia cordon that was keeping them pinned to the storage areas. They're moving back into the port facilities and the Militia wants us to stop them until they can reorganize". That seemed to make things clear for Mellow who signaled everyone to lock and load their weapons. 

"Shit!" Gutierrez comment was low but still audible to the rest of his team's members as he flipped a clip into his Gauss rifle. They were the first team to deploy, meaning that they had to cover the side of the Triton's door and bring down any aliens that might interference with the landing. 

"Hey, no big problem right? We'll just have to hold them back?" Both Kern and Markovitch looked at Vantauskas. The Lithuanian rookie was looking in anticipation for his third mission, having survived his first two without a scratch. She was a little expectful that he would make it past the five mission limit but she couldn't have much hope. Most of the rookies she had known during her months here were dead and several had been sent back to shore with something missing from their bodies, usually the limbs. One of the casualties had half his bowels dissolved by a sonic round but he had been stabilized quickly enough and had made it back to a hospital where a series of long surgeries had fixed whatever remained of his intestines.

"Almost kid". She was at least fifteen years older than him. "We'll have to hold them back…at any cost if this fight is going to end". As he considered that thought the radio from the cockpit buzzed again with the voice of Books. "Petty, we're right on the LZ. See that building on the right at two o'clock? The space between it and the tower? I can bring you right down there. It seems clear of any aliens".

Without waiting for a reply the Triton dropped down, its boxy shape shaking as the atmospheric engines turned into vertical landing mode. The vibration made all the aquanauts inside to grab the leather straps even tighter and Markovitch muttered to herself that even the Skyrangers were a smoother ride than the half-breed sub/plane that they were using.

When the craft finally touched on the ground the bump was felt over the entire hull, as the Triton lacked either wheels or landing skis and rested on its bottom. "Kern, Watkins, right side. Me and Vantauskas will take left". Right after Gutierrez's words the door slid to the side and her fireteam immediately stepped out into the harbor.

A light drizzle and mist hung upon the air, with the Sun partially blocked by the clouds, already forming small puddles of water on the concrete. To her right Markovitch saw a empty checkpoint, with the vehicle yellow and black barrier still down while a figure moved inside. 

"Aquatoid! Two o'clock!" She immediately called and Kern turned his bulky Gas cannon firing a round that broke through the glass window of the small hut, shattering it before the entire guardhouse burst into flame. Looking around she saw that Ensign Books had landed close to the bank of the harbor, with a high metal fence separating their position from the blue waters. That area was full of wood containers, oil barrels and a number of low metal walled buildings and a humanoid figure suddenly jumped into sight ten meters away from them. 

First Markovitch confused it to be one of the dock workers but quickly the circular metal helmet and the brown uniform it wore told her otherwise. "Calcinite! Shit!" A trooper from behind her gave the warning as her jet harpoon was already turning to aim on the alien terrorist. 

Pressing the trigger the weapon shot a three-round burst but all missed the alien, instead hitting the crates and the metal wall behind the creature as it charged towards their location. Other aquanauts took a number of potshots as they rushed past her position, hitting it with at least one Gauss round that sent the creature spinning sideways.

But before she could take another shot, amidst the cracking noise of Sonic rounds and the lesser pitch of the sounds made by human weapons she heard something that made her turn towards the tail of the sub. 

A small blue and red globe rolled as it fell on the ground, on the area nearby Gutierrez before a flash filled her vision and all battle sounds suddenly ceased to be heard. The blast wave of the sonic pulser threw Vankauskas towards her, pushing her to the ground with his body, as the side of the Triton was engulfed in a wave of flame as the sonic pulse from the alien grenade detonated the oil inside the barrels, setting off secondary blasts amidst the sound of another pulser explosion to the back of the Triton. 

The explosions hit several X-COM aquanauts, most of them simply vaporized as the powerful blast hit their unprotected bodies. Petty Mellow was thrown into the metal fence but apparently his aqua-plastic armor protected him as he got up from the ground and started shouting orders as soon as he got up, while ensign Costa finally decided to step out of the Triton, looking in horror at the scene of mayhem and destruction before and freezing at the door, Vantauskas body was limp and as she started to push him away from him she noticed that blood was oozing out of his ears. Checking his pulse Markovitch discovered that he was dead.

"Jesus! Watkins, are you alright?" Kern approached her, still dazzled by the explosion as his face showed burn marks on his temples and forehead. 

She didn't bother to answer and scrambled to get up after finding her jet harpoon rifle. "Where's Gutierrez?" As she looked to the area where their fireteam leader was standing less than a minute ago she only saw the mangled remains of his Gauss rifle, all blackened by the explosion. "Dead and Vantauskas also. Let's get out of here before more grenades start raining on us". 

A cry of pain caught both soldiers' attention as Petty Mellow stumbled back into their sight, its dark blue aquaplastic armor scorched and twisted all over his torso and the white bone of his left shoulder socket barely visible between the black remains of what used to be his left arm. Costa froze at the sight of the crippled NCO as Mellow gathered its strength and approached him, his still intact right arm grabbing the ensign's back of his neck while his mouth was clenched and his white teeth cringed in pain. Then Markovitch and Kern watched as his eyes turned upwards and he collapsed. 

"Oh Jesus!" Costa stood petrified for a moment before he panicked and started on a run towards the metal fence. As he dashed Markovitch got up to his feet, while Kern rushed to the NCO's aid but quickly discovered that he was dead.

"Anyone out there? What is going on?" The voice of Books, who was on the cockpit of the Triton, came to her ears as she saw Costa jumping from the pier to the water and decided that the officer had actually taken a wise decision since it would be better if the junior officer stood out of this one.

"This is Watkins. Mellow is dead and Costa just turned chicken". Curses came over the line as the surviving squad members heard her grim announcement. Burton and Crazy T came from their position at the aft of the craft with the taller assistant seaman shoving Burton with his Gas cannon. "Ass wipe! You should have gotten that Aquatoid!"

"What happened?" Markovitch demanded as it looked that the LZ was finally clear but at a grievous cost. 

"This idiot can't shoot straight! He failed to get that alien that was lobbing those grenades at us! Barnby and Milinic are dead because of him!" Then he looked at the corpses nearby and nearly threw himself at Burton but Markovitch stepped between both of them. "Shut up T! We got bigger problems now!" 

Then the tactical radio crackled with Renton's voice. "All teams! We're being pinned by aliens on the building to the bow of the Triton! We could use some help around here!"

Looking around, she counted more two fallen bodies that Mellow had just checked and left alone. Of the fourteen aquanauts at least five, including their squad leader, were dead while Costa was out of the fight, leaving only her and the three soldiers around to deal with the aliens present on this section of the oil facility.

"Watkins, you better move your lovely ass to Renton and give him some help. I can't do much from here!" 

_Get moving or no one will make it back. Immediately she jumped into action, shouting to the three soldiers."Follow me!"_

Oil mixed with the water on the wet floor turning it into a rainbow of colors as she and Kern rushed forward, with Crazy T and Burton on tow, past the cockpit of the Triton where Books was furiously trying to get the Triton back airborne. A sonic round whizzed above their heads before hitting the ground and making a smoking hole.

She saw Renton and Marsden taking cover on the metal pillars of the tower nearby the Triton and firing their weapons at the second floor of a white building whose walls were becoming pocketed with blast marks. Joining him below the flight of stairs that led into the upper level she asked. "How are we doing?"

"Bad". Renton stepped out of his cover and fired an auto shot at the building before hiding again. "Ballard and Ewing are dead. What happened back there? Where's Gutierrez?"

She shook her head. "We're the only ones left and that puts you in charge". Renton grimaced as he counted them and tried to decide on what to do. 

"Watch out!" The large head of an Aquatoid appeared on one of the windows and fired his Sonic Cannon at their direction, barely missing Marsden, who afterwards rushed from her position to the cover of one of the large low metal buildings that littered the area. She fired her rifle in response but the alien went back to cover.

"Any ideas Watkins?" The surviving aquanauts standing underneath the tower were trying to bring down the alien snipers on the building, along with the other team. 

"We need to rush their position". 

"Ballard already tried. A Calcinite on the ground floor ripped him into pieces as he stepped inside". Looking at Kern, who was trying to find a target for his Gas Cannon, her sight dropped to a orange painted clip on his belt. "Kern! Load up the phosphorous and lit the place up!" First he looked at her in confusion but then he stepped back to the safety of a pillar as she called upon Crazy T to do the same with his weapon.

Turning toward her, Marsden asked defiantly. "Watkins, who the fuck put you into charge?" Mellow's angry voice came in reply. 

Ignoring the female aquanaut and putting all her strength and determination on her voice she ordered. "Crazy T: switch to the ground floor afterwards. Burn the fuckers now!"

For a second nothing happened then two rounds came flying towards the second floor and through the windows, with two short explosions afterwards that sent flames to the outside. Renton's voice came next, as both Crazy T and Kern switched fire to fill the inside of the building with fire: "Everyone, do as she says. Geady for them as they leave!"

A loud shriek was heard and through the metal door on the floor the Calcinite came first, its brown diving suit filled with flame. Instantly the alien was fired upon and dropped by all X-COM soldiers, before it had even covered half the distance to the other team. One of the Aquatoids also rushed forwards a few moments later holding a Sonic Rifle and firing furiously at its human tormentors but the creature took shot from Markovitch's jet harpoon on its chest that rocked him backwards and it fell dead on the ground a couple of moments later. 

"Let's move out!" Renton's voice came next as the remaining Aquatoid came to one of the windows, its body on fire and trying in anguish to escape the smoke and fire hell that the second floor had turned into and jumped to the outside, landing on its head after a ten meter fall.

After going through the building and finding the burnt remains of another Aquatoid inside, Renton and Markovitch stopped inside the building and while they recharged their weapons he asked her. "OK, now what?" 

"We hang out until the Alaskans get here. Find a strong position and fortify it". A crashing sound was heard from the above levels and both of them looked upwards. The other four aquanauts had spread around the room and were keeping an eye outside. "This place is coming down". At Renton's warning she rushed to an inner door, she kicked it open, finding only an empty office, with papers spread over the floor and pavement. 

"Come here Renton!" When the leading seaman got inside the office she pointed towards a long and low brick building that was close to the administration building, whose upper windows were still intact, with a metal tower standing behind it. "Sounds like home to me". 

He looked unsure to the building and pointed towards the metal door on its front. "There's got to be another one on the other side". 

"Fine. I'll circle it and take Kern with me. You and Crazy T rush the front. Marsden and Burton can cover us in case any alien shows up while we are approaching it".

"We got a plan. Good luck!" Calling Kern, she stepped outside the administration building as the ceiling started to release smoke. The aquanaut's expression was less than thrilled but he readied his Gas cannon and moved behind her, each pair of soldiers rushing five meters before kneeling down while the other run to reach his position. Then they would repeat the process, taking cover on the metal containers spread around the dock. It took them less than thirty seconds to cover the distance and  meanwhile Books had informed them that the Alaskans were closing from that direction to link with the X-COM squad. He also said that Costa had apparently cooled off from the swim he had taken and had came back to the craft but since he was fearful that the ensign would panic again he had ordered the officer to remain inside the Triton.

When the four soldiers finally reached the eastern brown brick wall, Markovitch moved over to the back of the building but as she finally stepped into the other side a sonic round crackled from above and she hear a cry of pain behind her.

Her eyes scanned upwards and she saw an Aquatoid standing on the tower above them: apparently the alien must have waited for them to approached and his shot had hit Kern, who now retreated backwards, his hand gripping his stomach tightly. Pointing her harpoon rifle upwards she tracked the alien as it started to move back towards the small room on top of the tower and pressed the trigger.

But instead of the whizzing sound that she was expecting a small clank she heard briefly a small clank as the jet harpoon got stuck into something inside the yellow barrel and the compressed propellant discharged most of its power still inside the tube before the growing pressure finally forced the harpoon out of the barrel but not without the recoil kicking the weapon out of her hands. 

_Shit. _The misfire on the barrel of the jet harpoon snapped the lightweight composite tube like a broken twig of a tree as she looked desperately at the weapon. A small dent near the ruined section told her what had happened: she must have inadvertly hit something on that location of the rifle's barrel and when she had discharged the weapon the jet-propelled round it had simply got stuck inside and the propellant had detonated there. She had never considered that the weapon's resistance would be lesser in the surface than in the war and therefore had never thought of taking extra care when holding the harpoon rifle on land. _Why couldn't they just give us some old-fashion lasers! _She immediately dropped the weapon and jumped to the direction of a wooden crate, since she was standing on open ground and the Aquatoid would easily pick her like shooting fish on a barrel. 

A cracking sound and a small explosion to the top of the crate where she had just   taken cover told her that the Aquatoid hadn't forgotten about her. Throwing the useless weapon aside she crawled to the left and peaked. 

The alien was still inside the cabin on top of the metal structure and seemed to have noticed that she wasn't firing back since he was right at the door and tracking for her. She immediately removed her head and a second later a small explosion carved a hole in the ground as the wailing sonic round barely missed her hair. "Fuck!" She looked around to see where the positions of Kern or any other aquanauts were but found none. An explosion on the inside of the brick building on her back told her that there were aliens inside and that they might be stepping out of the metal door very quickly. 

Her hands went to the hooks attached to her shoulder and to the small backpack. From one hook she removed a red and white can-shaped particle disturbance grenade and from her back she took a yellow and red stun rod that she quickly extended to its full size. A full automatic round of Gauss fire was heard on the inside of the warehouse and a window exploded into a million pieces. Apparently Renton and Crazy T were also having problems inside the building. 

She was trapped if the aliens decided to escape the building: she couldn't get out of her position since the Aquatoid would gun her down from its advantage position if she tried to move. And any alien that stepped out of the door could easily shoot her before she had a chance of use any of her weapons. _Act! Even if the chance is one to a million you can make it! _

She could use the particle disturbance grenade to cover the door and make a run for the tower. If she could reach the underneath of the platform the alien wouldn't be able to fire at her. Tricky but it just might work, she considered as she got to her knees and reached for the harpoon rifle. Activating the white and red colored grenade she called loud to warn any soldier that might come out of the door. 

"Prox at the back door!" She called on the radio threw the grenade towards the door and it hit its surface before it landed on the ground and stood quiet. _Will it work over water? _She couldn't afford the thinking and threw the rifle to the left a second before she had also thrust to the other side, holding the red and yellow barrel of the thermal tazer on her hand. A double cracking sound caused the side of the crate next to her to burst into splinters and a sharp pain on her arm told her that something sharp had hit it. The alien apparently hadn't been fooled by the distraction but his shots had missed and she was already halfway and taking random turns of direction to make the Aquatoid's aim more difficult. 

The alien still managed to release another shot before she reached the safety of the underneath of the tower but the shot went way over her head. 

As soon as she only saw metal above her head she suddenly stopped although the sudden change of motion made her stumble while turning back towards the door. To her horror she saw that it was open and the red eyes on the small bulbous head of a Aquatoid were locked into her direction while the alien moved its green thin arms to point something that looked like a big water pistol at her that had a barrel a couple of centimeters wide. _Stun launcher!_ That was the term for it during the first war and she had been already informed of its existence and equal effects on this war. It had been surprising to know how much the alien's weapons hadn't changed in terms of configuration from one war to the other but it was also frightening to think that the aliens had a weapon like the blaster launchers available on the first war. 

She started moving towards one of the metal pillars for protection but as the alien lurched forward and fired the thermal shock launcher, the grenade detected its movement and detonated as the stun bomb was still gathering speed in the barrel at the section where the two circles that composed the weapon joined. The shot went completely off and hit one of the girders on the tower to her opposite direction but the blast as the round set itself off rushed past her on a feeling of heat bathing her immediately followed by a glacial cold sensation. The difference in temperature made her to feel as if she had just stepped into a cold shower after a very hot sauna and the pain on her arm increased enough for her to clench her teeth. As confusion and nausea overtook her for a second and during that time she saw that the blast had failed to take out the alien although it had been injured. 

It wouldn't miss a second shot and she was too dazzled to move before the alien fired. The humming sound and a sudden crack made the alien face cringe with pain however and it dropped its weapon before falling dead to the ground. _Thanks a lot whomever you are!_ Glancing upwards she remembered the upstairs alien. "Watch out!" The white boots of the aqua-plastic armored soldier were the first thing she saw moving towards the door before the air between her and the trooper seemed to wave as a sonic round hit the chest of the leading seaman. The whipping crack jumped her into full alertness and she started moving towards the stairs that lead to the above cabin. More humming told her that the NCO was replying to the alien's fire. "Watkins! Stop right there!" A voice called from the building making her stop as she had cleared the first flight of stairs. 

They needed to root out the alien out of the cabin, she knew that and looked again at the next flight of metal stairs. The whole of her left arm felt wet and her hand was covered with warm moisture. _I can deal with this later. _As she begun moving forward again Renton's voice came back. "Stop dammit! Crazy T, get that fucker!"

From a broken window on the side of the building she saw a brief vision of a yellow muzzle as it fired a gas propelled projectile that flew towards the cabin and through its open front door before hitting a metal wall and bursting the inside of the room. The explosion shook the flight of stairs and she lost her balance. As her feet tried to stay steady one of them sidestepped the metal of the stairs and she raced down towards the ground, with her arms trying to get a grip on the stairs. Her good arm managed to a grip solid enough for her to control the fall but as she felt her hand loosing the hold she had no choice but to drop into a hard landing on her feet. Still she immediately rolled over to deflect the momentum of the fall. When she finally stopped she was reminded again of the piece of metal slashed into her arm. _Shit. I had forgotten that officers bleed like everyone else._ Looking at the arm she saw a twisted fragment of metal standing out of a torn section just underneath the shoulder of her suit covered with blood. _Guess I'll have to be back to the butcher shop._

With her right arm she reached for the shrapnel and in a brusque notion pull it off from the injury. The rawness and anger of her yell as the pain overtook her body surprised her and she quickly opened her eyes to see Renton moving to towards her. Over the bent section where he had been hit by the sonic weapon his eyes were scanning at her in bewilderment. "Gezz, Watkins. Who do you think you are? Trying to win a medal or something?" 

Looking at the shard of the metal at her hand for a second before tossing it aside she replied. "Give me a hand here. My ankle is hurting also". Crazy T had also by now stepped out of the warehouse and was looking at her with surprise as Renton gripped her extended hand and pulled her up to her feet. 

As she steadied up he ejected the empty clip of ammo from his silver Gauss rifle and replaced it with a new one slamming it into the opening on the barrel of the weapon. "You know it's easier to get a full case medal here than the ones they pin at your chest don't you?" His face was half-amused, half speechless at her. 

"Full case medal?" Her weapon was useless and she didn't bother to check it again. "Yeah, for some reason they ship the bodies back to shore on metal coffins".

Looking back to her discarded weapon she decided to pick it back up from where it stood on ground behind Crazy T and Renton. But instead her eyes went open wide as another door was slammed open and a brown figure with a metallic head stepped out and rushed forward towards Renton with its powerful metal claws ready to strike the leading seaman.

The Calcinite's first swab cut through his backpack like a razor on paper rocking him forwards as she started to move towards him with her stun rod. Crazy T also immediately jumped into action but as he pointed his gas cannon towards the helmet of the figure she realized in horror that the weapon was loaded with high-explosive shells and that the blast would take out both humans and alien.

Then suddenly the alien's suit exploded as a Gauss round found it, sending the alien crumpling down to the ground, where it stayed with a green goo coming out of several locations on its body. Still that didn't prevent Crazy T from racing towards the figure and kicking it in anger as now Markovitch helped Renton to get up. "Close call". He added as she turned to see who had saved their asses from the dead alien.

A group of soldiers slowly moved over the dock and towards them, but instead of the blue suits worn by X-COM's aquanauts they were gray and white urban camouflage battle uniforms and held silver Gauss rifles. One of the PRA soldiers approached the group looking in confusion at Crazy T, who by now was shouting all manner of obscenities at the dead alien. "Who's in charge of this circus!?"

Turning towards him Markovitch saw triple bars marked in black on his helmet, marking him as an officer.

"Put it down Crazy T!" Renton had regained his composure and turned to the officer whose facial features marked him as a Native Alaskan. "That's me. How wants to know?"

Coming closer Markovitch read that the nametag on the officer's left chest said: "AULAK" and realized that Renton had just bitten too much to swallow. "The PRA _corporal!_ We're taking control of this area. I want your ugly faces out of here!" Renton's face brightened and Markovitch realized that the officer had just given him the reason he wanted to do something at his attitude. "Really? Gues what? You can…"

her quick words stopped whatever Renton was about to say. 

She placed herself between Renton and Aulak, her elbow striking backwards and hitting the armor of the X-COM soldier and making him stop whatever he was about to say. "Ensign Costa must be over that area, sir! He's in charge of our unit". 

Until now the PRA officer had ignored her but now he turn his attention from Renton, studying her for a second before his mouth relaxed. "Inform him that his presence here is no longer necessary". Without a dismissal he moved forwards following his men, who were busy securing the brick building. 

Turning back towards Renton and Crazy T, who had just spitted on the Calcinite, she added. "You heard him. Let's get out of here". 

"Watkins, who just died and put you in charge?" Renton's voice showed irritation at her interference but he let it go and the three aquanauts moved back to join their comrades at the other side of the harbor.  

October 22nd, 2044

The White House, Washington D.C., US

The windows on the circular room had been recently replaced from bullet-proof glass to aqua-plastic so that now they could withstand better any shots fired at the building that housed the president of the US. However, one of the two Secret Service agents that stood in attention still frowned as President Richard Ambergrist slightly moved one of the curtains aside to take a look at the anti-war rally that had been scheduled for the day. The protest was being sponsored from a major of anti-war movements and Ambergrist shook his head in frustration, wondering if there was ever a way to please all of their claims. Everybody who had a political position against the government had expressed their intention to join the rally and it made a very mismatched group of protesters. There was the Freedom of Succession, a movement that defended that all states had the right to separate from the union, to the association of veterans that had most of its support based on the northern states, from Washington through Dakota and Maine. Unlike the southern states that had experienced droughts and whose weather in some areas was closest now to a desert their upper latitude had kept them pretty amenable to live but their inhabitants were getting tired of the migrations of people from the south. Then there was also the National Association of Veterans, who demanded that all US forces to be pulled out of the demarcation line with Alaska and the Caribbean, so that the skirmishes would end on both areas. The Green Party was also present, which demanded that Congress would sign a treaty with the Alaska People's Republic so that both countries could agree on how to conduct a sustainable exploration of the resources on Western Pacific. And in an already plethora of movements Ambergrist could also see the purple pyramid signs carried by members of the Cult of Sirius, who demanded that all hostilities to be stopped against the aliens and that the US pulled out of X-COM. The report that he had been given by the FBI had also mentioned a number of other organizations, and the whole cocktail was potentially very dangerous since most of them had opposite and radical ideas meaning that the rally could well turn into a riot. The DC police had mobilized all of its agents and put them out on the street but if things got out of control the situation on the capital could turn very sour. There was a battalion of Marines ready to intervene in case any government building was threatened and the presidential VV-43 VTOL plane was ready to take-off at any minute but Ambergrist wasn't going to leave Washington soon. He had a very important meeting in fifteen minutes but for the time being he was talking to the Attorney General of the United States, which had been summoned for a previous talk before they would meet the American X-COM councilman. 

John S. Cameron was one of the youngest attorney generals in the entire US history. He had been only 35 when Ambergrist had named him to the position when he had been elected. The lawyer had quite a reputation before entering office as he climbed all the way until becoming North Carolina's top attorney general and when Ambergrist had known him during his election campaign he had became impressed with the young man and later had decided to invite him for his team after being advised so. Ambergrist knew that the man was on its way to an impressive political career: he had the ambition and the contacts inside Washington. "Things don't look so nice do they John?"

"Things can look the way we want them to be Mr. President". 

"Yeah, if I had your age I'd think the same way. In two weeks we have reelections and the polls are too close to give me any comfort". He looked again at the crowd in the rally. 

"You know there are people there who actually support an unilateral cease-fire with the aliens?"

"Cult members Mr. President. One of the characteristics of living in a democracy".

"It's not just that. I received calls from two senators this morning. One has stated the need to maintain current defense spending otherwise unemployment will grow on his state. The other has claimed exactly the opposite, that he has been bombarded by calls and mail from voters who have complained about the current war status. Now how should I reply to any of them? What should I tell to the people who are going to listen to my speech in Tennessee in a few hours?" Ambergrist already had an idea but he liked listening to Cameron's views on the subject. 

"Sir, you were elected due to your promise to re-establish normal relations with the Alaskans and end the present situation. If the aliens hadn't reappeared you'd have reached that goal by now". 

"Yeah and the other guy has just appropriated himself of my ideas! You heard him on the visiscreen the other day. He wishes to enter negotiations with the Alaskans to finish all affairs and a complete demilitarization of the area".

"That won't go every well with the diehards on Congress about the succession and the political action groups against it. It may backfire on him". 

"For him and for me. The whole matter is too sensitive at the moment John. You've done a great job together with State department in resolving things silently and quickly with the trial of those Alaskan spies who tried to infiltrate through the Canadian border. It was only after they had been exchanged for some of our people who had been imprisoned by them". 

"The whole matter only blew out to the press after the exchange was done. Otherwise we'd have people clamoring for their release while others would want them hanged after the trial". 

"Yes and that's a good point. See, there's something else I want to tell you although you haven't been cleared for top secret access….yet". The last word brought a half-smile on Cameron's mouth. "I'm fully aware of my duties and responsibilities sir. I took an oath years ago". 

"That will suffice for now although I'll ask for your security status to be upgraded later on. It's like this: I called councilman Williams to be fully informed of the situation regarding the aliens after the attack on their oil facility. It's a blessing the aliens didn't hit us instead since tempers are already running hot but he already gave me a preliminary report that will only be revealed after the election because of its potential for 'collateral' damage". 

That made Cameron worried. "We are winning the war right?"

"Well, he says that we are not losing it, which can be either both as good and bad news. But what he told me was that there might be a division within the aliens that might help us. In other words, it seems that there might be a split between the Aquatoids and the Gillmen".

"That would be a major breakthrough, sir. You should go with this public".

"Oh?" That was a major surprise for Ambergrist, who had decided otherwise. "Why do you think it so?"

"This information is going to hit the public sooner or later sir. It would be better if you can use it to your own advantage. Right now there's a lot of criticism pointed towards X-COM and although it was not your decision to join it you have tied the US war effort to the organization. That news is a major confirmation of your policies sir. It also reminds people that the war has been long so far but that we are getting somewhere. It will also distract the public and the media enough from the Alaska question and make the other guy". He smiled at the mention of the contender from the other party. "To look bad: he also wants to try to reach an appeasement with the aliens. This information will only show that we'll have to keep fighting them because they're oppressors". 

The President of the United States thought about that for a moment before a low buzzer went off on his desk telling him that Williams' limo had just cleared the back gate. "Let's see what our representative has to say about this". Cameron said but Ambergrist clearly had something else on his mind. 

"Harry, I have an idea. What if I ask Mr. Williams to call councilman Roberts of the PRA and tell him to relay this message to the Alaskan Politburo: the US is deeply concerned about the current state of affairs at the area but our forces will not fire unless fired upon. And unofficially, we are willing to cooperate on the alien question, bypassing X-COM if necessary". That brought a surprised look from Cameron, who clearly was considering the idea. "That might be hard to sell, especially on an election year, plus can we trust the Alaskans?"

But Ambergrist dismissed Cameron objections and the Attorney General now realized how the US President had already decided on what to do concerning the whole situation. The previous talk they had was simply a way to ask a second opinion without revealing his thoughts. It made sense to Cameron, who saw the Alaska affair as more of a political nuisance than anything else. 

"The attack on Kodiak must have hurt them. This way we can make a good will gesture in the hope that later we can solve this whole situation and concentrate on the war. They only have to win with this". Considering his words Cameron nodded. The proposal would be kept quiet until some measure of success could be achieved against the aliens, something easier if the US and PRA navies weren't engaged into pissing contests against one another. Then the whole story would be revealed later on, probably the week before the election day to give a little extra boast to the President on the polls, which were very close at this point. "We might have a problem selling it to Defense though". 

"Leave Gilligan to me. You'll be in charge of coordinating things with State and Williams".

"As you wish Mr. President". Cameron smiled but his lips didn't move. 

October 26th, 2044

Norfolk, Virginia, US

"Doctor Camay, there's a matter to discuss about your research concerning the question of the alien races we've encountered so far". She acknowledged the Inspector General's words but waited for him to continue before revealing anything. After her talk with Elliquist she had made a throughout examination of their DNA plus her own interrogations on a captured Gillwoman. The evidence now pointed towards the fact that the Gillmen were native to this planet and that their biological data could date back from millions of years ago, something she considered unbelievable until she could check it with other data.

It meant that probably the human race hadn't been the aliens' only attempt to provide an intelligent species to a planet that already had one. Humans wouldn't even be able to claim anymore that they were the only intelligent species on the planet. Gillmen were here before us, on the time were reptiles dominated the world and from the remains still present on them once had a rich culture and a society. The aliens had taken nearly all from them and had left only brief remains of individuality. Most likely the Gillmen still had those remains of their former culture as an unconscious need although they had forgotten the original reasons behind it. The discussions of the subject with other scientists had brought the terrible conclusion that it would be the end of result of human society and culture in the case of alien conquest. Still, what gave her hope was that from her experience with the captured gillwoman, there was a lingering need of individuality and curiosity behind their eyes and thoughts. Apparently the Aquatoids hadn't been able to erase all of the species' intelligence and ability to rationalize their present situation. In other words, they weren't totally subjective to the Aquatoids. 

However, she assumed that all of that evidence wasn't enough to bring it forward to the council's attention. Following that logic it also dictated another thing that was a really hard question: if the Aquatoids also showed proof of being another branch of the Sectoid family that had split away from the main branch millions of years ago. In other words the Aquatoids could be established on the planet since that time and in that case, where were their settlements and bases located? She had discussed this all with the scientists, so that even if the Inspector General decided to shut down her work the idea would still be around for a while. But apparently Alkeviades had had enough of all her speculation. 

"I first only authorized this program because I had considered it to be of a low priority and because I expected the results to give us something more practical on the field. However, from your latest reports I've noticed that the guidelines under which this subject had been researched were completely different from the ones I've just mentioned. Of course, considering your previous association with Councilman Williams I actually should have been expecting this". _Which you didn't, otherwise we wouldn't be having this conversation._

"Councilman Williams never pressed me into this subject or others". She knew it not to be completely true but decided against revealing it. "I have been wondering into the possibility of calling for a motion of censure upon him on the next council meeting". He said flatly. 

Looking away from him, she asked: "Will you include me on that motion?" Not that she really mattered since all it meant was an official reprimand. The only penalty highest for that that the Council could attribute was death by firing squad in case a soldier deserted while on combat or shoot a fellow officer on propose. 

"I wish but it seems I won't. Instead I'm going to order you to continue your research and to prepare to present a report to the Council by the next meeting". 

"Less than a week? It will be impossible, Inspector". Frustration came to his face but he nodded to her. "Make it a short summary of the hypothesis and your estimate of its plausibility. The Council needs something to keep them occupied. But by the end of the year I expect to have a full brief to present them".  

"I'll need to given authorization regarding further confirmation research during that time". She decided to see how much of a leash he was giving her. "Just pass them properly marked to my secretary and they will be reviewed and be given a reply immediately. I'm sure the Council will provide all authorization necessary when they meet at the end of the month".

"I'll need further resources". 

"You'll get them. Just pass your request to Commodore Paris' office". Then Alkeviades left her office making her to wonder who things were changing and if it meant that they were about to finally make some progress on the whole war. 

André Galvão, 2004 


	8. The Devil's Disciple

X-COM: Abyssal

Chapter Seven – The Devil's Disciple

_"Inquisitors, The_

_The origin of the Inquisitor movement is very much related to the appearance of the Cult of Sirius pro-alien religion. But, unlike them, the Inquisitors never made a point of publicly defending their anti-alien views. Instead, they chose to take direct action against anything or anyone related to the aliens. It is believed that the pro-alien propaganda of the Cult was one of the key factors related to the appearance of the Inquisitor movement, which capitalized in the extraterrestrial resentment following the First Alien War. Some reports claim that former X-COM veterans instigated the reply to the Cult, although the organization wasn't implicated in any way in the creation of the group. _

No matter what the original founders were, the Inquisitor movement started in North America and soon extended throughout the globe. Its actions were motivated by an extreme xenophobia and the desire to lash out at any alien remains on the planet or any use of their technology, but the group effectively lacked any coherent leadership or coordination. Several interest groups, ranging from environmental fanatics to former veterans of the war, composed the Inquisitors, each one its own agenda .Their activities ranged from peaceful boycotts to any products derived from alien technology to the bombing of the Gauss Tower in the 2020's, a corporate headquarters responsible for several consumer products based on the aliens.

_As the Inquisitors ideas begun to spread, it was obvious that they where heading for a frontal collision with the Cult of Sirius, who was going through its own expansion during this period. The initial uncontested assaults upon the Cult's members and the burning of their facilities by angry mobs soon escalated into open warfare between both groups, as the governments watched helplessly. The near civil war only ended in 2036 with the defeat of the Inquisitors. In that year the Cult launched a well-organized offensive to break the stalemate and disabled their few physical and electronic installations, killing the majority of their leaders and supporters. As public opinion roared against their criminal actions, the hard-pressed governments managed to regain control of the situation by imposing a crack-down on all Inquisitor-Cult violence. In years, the Inquisitor movement soon sunk into oblivion, with its few remaining members hiding from view. Although their disappearance is still much debated nowadays with the renewal of hostilities with the aliens, their existence as an organized movement belongs now to history."_

- X-COM's UFOPedia

October 24th, 2044

Madhouse Rock, Western Pacific

One could say that Lieutenant Commander Parkenson was mad but Markovitch knew otherwise as she waited stiffly in attention at the officers' mess while Parkenson blinked her eyes to try to compose himself. Seated next to him, Chief Petty Agnello was silent, his attention apparently out of the room, but occasionally he would tap his left jacket pocket, where Markovitch knew that he had a rosary there. He had been at the sub pen when the Triton carrying the remains of third squad had docked and as the members of other squads took away the bodies of Mellow, Gutierrez and all the others he had taken out the marble rosary from that pocket and made the aquanauts stop as he made the sign of the cross over while blessing them.

The ride back from Kodiak Island to Madhouse had been tough with few sentences spoken between the remaining members of her squad. Half of them had been killed, most of it by the alien grenades that had went off on the landing zone. The fighting on the First Alien War had been brutal and there had been cases of entire squads or platoons being wiped out but not under Markovitch's command. As the soldiers sat and waited for Books to bring them back home she had contemplated the body bags on the back of the cargo bay of the craft in silence, wondering if that particular catastrophe could have been avoided.

Due to the losses suffered 3rd Squad had been pulled out of the active roster since there were only now five members still ready for combat with Kern still on the medical bay recovering from the sonic round that had injured him.

"Seaman Anne Watkins". Parkenson's voice seemed to falter. "You've been already promoted to Able Seaman rank as you know. However and due to necessity I've requested that you'll be further bumped into Leading Seaman as soon as we get replacements for the losses your squad contained". That was a surprise for her but she kept her face locked. "Understood, sir". Then she added. "May I ask why? There are other senior enlisted aquanauts still available"

Parkenson nodded. "You will serve on an acting basis Watkins: you'll get the grade but your paycheck remains the same until you prove you're fit for the position".

"Petty Renton asked for you to lead one of the fireteams". Agnello interrupted. "Marsden and Kern will be in charge of the other two but he considered that, despite the fact that Able Seaman Teller had seniority over you, it would be wiser to have someone else in charge. Lt. Commander Parkenson and myself agreed with his assessment since the other squads can't spare any experienced NCOs". Markovitch nodded: no one really wanted to see Crazy T in charge of anything other than his weapon. The man was borderline psycho while in combat. "Teller agreed with the recommendation although he asked to be placed under your command".

That nearly made Markovitch sigh since she wasn't too fan of having a soldier with his characteristics in combat: things could get really out of hand and having someone that unreliable could really backfire on the entire team. Parkenson scowled at her question but Agnello gave her a rock face. "They have all declined. Teller says that you'll make a better job at keeping your team alive…but the others say exactly the opposite".

A smug run through Parkenson's mouth at Agnello's description as he remembered her official records. Markovitch wasn't too surprised with the assessment: she had heard it before a number of times, even before joining X-COM. Although Agnello knew nothing of her real identity his expression didn't reveal what was his real opinion about which category she fitted. He simply gazed at her until Parkenson dismissed her.

Norfolk, Virginia, US

"Subject of this recording: analysis of specimens' #479/3 and 479/6, namely two corpses, of a Deep One and a Gillman recovered last month. Scientists present: Dr. Camay and Dr. Elliquist". As she finished speaking to the tape recorders built into the examination's room wall she removed the plastic cover off the first examination table, revealing a green figure of a Deep One, first revealing its muscular legs.

"Gosh, what a stench!" Elliquist flinched backwards as the upper body of the alien was uncovered, as a foul smell started to spread around the room. It also brought a feeling of nausea to Camay even after her considerable time examining these biological monstrosities. Deep Ones were notorious for the smell of their entrails, even after they had been into cold storage for months. It was something rotten but familiar at the same time since they had once been human beings before serving as baby food for an alien larva that had been impregnated to the body while the person was still alive. The rest of the cover came off, showing a humanoid figure whose flesh and skin had a greenish tone from the by products released by the larvae as it grew. On its upper arm and close to the shoulder there were still the traces of a tattoo, another proof of the human origin of the hybrid. Its neck was barely gone, with the head hiding between hunched shoulders and having instead of a nose a pink trunk like an elephant's that hung limply over its neck.

"Get used to it Doctor, if you want to keep researching the aliens. Haven't you ever been on an autopsy before?" Camay wondered if Elliquist was going to throw up over the examination table since his face seemed to be turning of the same color of the alien.

"Yes, well I mean we saw it from a distance and through a window". So far Elliquist had been a nuisance: the young scientist was usually late for the meetings, didn't seem to care much about his personal appearance, as his unshaved chin showed and made all hypothetical conjectures, without caring to support them with facts. But he had been the one that had first made her think about the possibility that the Gillmen weren't tailor made by the Aquatoids and she gave him credit. Plus it would be a way to satisfy his curiosity into finally seeing the object of his studies in person, since he had flooded her office with requests, which if polite in manner were distracting and starting to become annoying.

Grabbing a surgical mask from a metal table nearby she gave it to him as she decided to wear one herself. "Well, it's well dead. It won't bite you now. Now grab please give me that scalpel to cut those stitches". After receiving the surgical instrument she used it to unseal the openings cut into the body by a previous examiner. The front of the creature showed the remains of a grid-like covered built into the flesh, another evidence of the alien's manipulation.

Hesitantly, Elliquist poked at the hard skin with a gloved finger. "What is that? Some sort of garment?"

"It's actually grown into the body. The alien embryo somehow manages to metabolize a structure similar to the aqua-plastic construction materials used by the aliens on their subs. The aqua-plastic armor developed by the SORESO teams and used by the troops is actually based on it".

"How come this corpse is all mangled? Don't they have a better specimen for us to examine?"

She tried not to give the tone of lecturing them but his face told her that she wasn't completely successfully. "The corpses in better condition are all sold by the Council to universities or private research facilities. I'm afraid both these specimens are all we have available at the moment". With a determined motion she cut the stitches and used her hands to open the chest of the creature. "As you can see, most of their inner organs have suffered major transformations and are nearly beyond recognition: the lungs seemed to have collapsed while the digestive tract is gone and the swollen liver seems to have taken all metabolic functions. Also there are new organs that allow the creature to generate a strong electric current, like an electric eel, which they use as their main attack weapon. Also the brain cortex has been heavily modified with implementation of alien technology".

"This creature is a hellish jigsaw puzzle, Dr. Camay".

"Yes". She moved her hands to the head and pulled open the eyelids revealing a pair of dead human brown colored eyes. "They pretty much change everything to their own design. The eyes they left untouched for some reason though".

"What are those for? They seem to wired to all these organs". Elliquist pointed at a small gold and black device attached to one of the creatures' inner belly. Camay tried to keep her voice neutral. "We are not sure".

"Not sure? What do you think they are?"

"Well..: the SORESO team suspected them to be control units to monitor and manipulate the creature using their…molecular control powers". That was only half-truth but it would be enough to satisfy Elliquist' curiosity, she considered, as she took a power cord from a drawer and connected it to a socket on the wall. "Watch". She took the white cord loose end were two plugs were out and connected it to a device standing on the Deep One dissected leg. The green hip started trembling and the whole leg stiffened until she removed the cord. "Very interesting". Elliquist commented but before he could make any more questions she pulled back the cover over the creature and moved to the next examination table saying to get his attention: "But here's what you wanted to see for so long".

A two meter tall Gillman, whose helmet shaped head still showed the entry wound of a harpoon, was laying on the table, with his mouth clenched as if he had died painfully. "This specimen is well-built like most of their race, impossible to determine his age but he is a fully sexually matured Gillmen" Elliquist managed to make a curious look in spite of his repulsion towards the dead alien body. "How do you know that?"

She cocked an eyebrow. She cocked an eyebrow. "Well, some physical male characteristics are quite recognizable, especially since they get swollen out of water". Pulling the rest of the plastic sheet off the Gillman's body the look on the xenophologist eyes' told her that he had seen exactly what she meant, which didn't was also something that didn't please her very much. As she pulled back the cover over the aliens' body he caught his breath and tried to compose his scientific posture.

"I had seen references to their differentiated sexes but they speak in a way that some of the other xenophologist classify as more platonic than physical, although I always thought otherwise. Do you think they still could generate offspring?"

"We have detected common gene markers on their DNA that show the existence of particular genetic lines. However, so far every new specimen has proved itself to have a genetic copy elsewhere on the planet so we're assuming that all of them have been cloned. Thus we never saw a Gillmen child and most likely we never will".

"That would definitely mark them as different for some people, doctor. Unlike Sectoids and Aquatoids these aliens would be more familiar to us".

"Until we find proof of such offspring or that a Gillwoman show unequivocal marks of having given birth that is all speculation, Dr. Elliquist".

"How do you explain that then". He pointed towards the groin area of the covered dead body.

"It's not enough to have it unless you can prove that he was going to use it for that purpose. Who knows? Maybe they thought better than the Aquatoids before tossing out sex and the pleasure derived from it completely. Or it could be something as our wisdom teeth or coccyx bone: leftovers from evolution".

"OK, I can agree with that Dr. Camay. But the Aquatoids could also have engineered their dismissal of sexual reproduction after their conquest of the Gillmen".

"You're speaking of conjectures, Mr. Elliquist. That's not science. If you have an hypothesis you need facts to prove your theory, at least that how it works in pure sciences".

"Yes, but what about the control devices that you showed me on the Deep One? Are they still present on the Gillmen?" Again Camay was uncomfortable but she responded. "Yes. But again what is their relevance? All other species we encountered show them. Like I said we suspect that they are used to connect each individual alien to their network although we never understood how it worked".

"Well, what I do not understand is this: the Gillmen are native to this planet but they have been conquered by the Aquatoids, sometime in the past. The Aquatoids are also an older branch of the Sectoid species. You told me that humans and Gillmen have close genetic similarities and we know that our own evolution was influenced by the Sectoids but why didn't the same happened to the Gillmen when they were conquered by the Aquatoids as the present theory says? Why weren't they changed even more?"

She considered his words for a few minutes, gesturing him to stop talking. The younger scientist ideas had given her a lot to think of lately. Everyone had assumed first that the new aquatic aliens were remains of the first invasion that had adapted to living underwater and had created new species to serve them such as the Calcinites and Deep Ones. No one had bothered to explain several features of the Gillmen that didn't fit this picture until now and it had simply been assumed that they had came also from space or that they were the result of more of the aliens' genetic manipulations.

"They have lived on Earth for a very long time, probably even developed here and were conquered by the Aquatoids/Sectoids, they weren't brought in from outer space millions of years ago. The aliens didn't make any attempt to change our culture".

"But that assumes that an intelligent species was living on this planet for thousands of years without any records from it on human history. In fact, they probably have an earlier claim to Earth than us, if you would believe on that". Camay winced at Elliquist's words. Despite the fact that the genetic research now showed very likely that the Gillmen dated millions of years ago still found it hard to believe.

"And Gillmen can live on land: it would be natural that they would go to land since they're intelligent and battlefield reports shown them to have curiosity. There had to be some interaction before….so why would they only come out now? Because of the aliens? Why didn't we have reports of them from before?"

"This is all circumstantial again, Dr. Elliquist". She was feeling frustrated with the differences between both their methods, considering that the younger man was more given to conjectures and speculations than pure scientific work. "It is unlikely that another civilization could be living on this planet for millions of years, but it isn't impossible, if you consider that for thousands of years the aliens visited this planet and only on the last century did we become aware of that there were other intelligent species on this universe. I'm starting to think that either they kept themselves out of human sight until now. It would make sense, given our own aggressive nature. Until the past thirty years mankind has kept itself mostly out of the oceans. If you feel threatened you react: that's a basic survival instinct".

"Yes, but there are a number of conclusions that can be taken: one, the talk about a division between the Aquatoids and the Gillmen is puff. If their molecular network functions as the way the Brain did on the First War, even if there's friction between both races, the fact that they're all connected into what you call their 'molecular network' makes it highly unlikely that they would have either the will or the means to shake off their enslavement. Second, even if that is possible, then most likely we would have to face them in war as well, since we're moving into their territory and I don't believe any of us would be willing to share resources, especially taking into account what the world situation is. Third, this take-over of the aliens could have happened on the past centuries, something I find improbable, but not impossible since no sightings of both Aquatoids/Gillmen and their technology were recorded for forty years after the end of the first war or before that".

Camay still didn't want to believe what she was hearing but by now she had to realize that what the young man was saying made sense for the first time. "The take-over happened on the past, millions of years ago? But how?"

"The DNA shows that the Gillmen are millions of years old. Most likely the Aquatoids are also the Sectoids antecessors and have been visiting Earth for longer than anyone of us have ever expected. For some reason they have kept dormant until so far or out of sight, probably only decided to come out after the Brain on Cydonia was destroyed".

But Camay had remembered something else, although she didn't speak it to Elliquist. _The last alive alien on the Brain's chamber at Cydonia. _

Her memory went back to that day. They were standing on the large metal chamber, trying to get close to the mass of organic tissue and machinery that dominated the end of the room. The last alien had shot Colonel Johnson a second time but instead of running or taking cover it had run towards a control panel and activated a beacon that had been transmitted to Earth before the antennas on the Face had been destroyed by the remaining Avengers. _What was it doing?_ A cold feeling came down her spine.

Her last phrase had made her stop in shock. _An underwater army waiting to be activated?_ _But why only after the defeat at Cydonia? Why hadn't the aliens used them before to fight during the first war?_ It didn't made sense other for the fact that the aliens had acted conspicuously and it fit that pattern. But it also meant…

A migraine started to come to Camay's head and she hoped she wasn't getting senile. The younger scientist looked more like a bulldozer in all she and X-COM had believed so far over the aliens. She still found it unbelievable of how the SORESO scientists had missed it but it also made sense because the previous theory was more plausible. Until now. "You know what that means?"

"Yes, I know what it means". Elliquist smiled. "Good luck: I wouldn't want to be the one explaining to the Inspector General or to the Council that their salvation theory of the Gillmen becoming our allies has just been thrown out the window. Also they wouldn't be too happy when they realized that the threat is much bigger than they ever dared to imagine".

_I wonder if you're aware of the truth on your last observation. _Camay sometimes deeply disliked the younger scientist's opinions and attitude, not to mention his appearance but she was also deeply concerned that her reaction was simply anger for not having thought of it before. Covering the Gillmen she hurried Elliquist out of the storage room and went to her office. She needed to talk to Williams as soon as possible.

October 25th, 2044

Vladivostok, Eurasia

"There live the unconverted, the lost souls who are living under the oppression of their human condition and faithless leaders". Xhin kept quiet at Vassilev's words with a silent nod being his only answer as his eyes skimmed through the cold Pacific waters around the hovercraft. The Russian was a good brother, although sometimes he would get too idealistic on his ideas. He had of course raised some objections to this meeting until Vassilev had assented to its realization.

Cult of Sirius had tried previously to contact the aquatic aliens but their attempts had been frustrated first by a lack of response then later by a clear disregard by the aliens who had shown no restrains on attacking Cult facilities and members in case they were on the line of fire.

The defection of Australasia, the nation that compassed Australia, New Zealand and most of the Pacific islands nearby along with New Guinea, however had opened a window of opportunity to finally establish contact with the aliens. Eurasia was one of the few countries that still maintained diplomatic relations with Australasia due to the large number of Cult followers amongst its population and after months the ambassador had finally brought a positive reply to Xhin and Vassilev's requests for parlays with the aliens. Of course, neither the Eurasian government had been informed nor would they have allowed it in their territory so Xhin and Vassilev had taken a commercial flight to the Vladivostok on the Kamkatcha peninsula where they had boarded a large hovercraft that was being manned completely by Cult personnel.

The Unidentified Submersible Object lifted out of the water as if pulled up by an invisible divine hand. Unlike a VTOL craft it made no sound save for the cascade of water raining down its sides as it felt back into the ocean. Roughly arrow shaped, the craft hang on the air close to the open cargo area of the hovercraft and the entire crew stopped on their tracks and was looking silently at the sight of the USO as it started circling them while keeping its bow pointed at the larger craft. Xhin barked an order for everyone to resume their duties and stay out of sight while Vassilev looked weary at the sight of the alien craft keeping a close watch at them with its weapons as it went around.

When it completed its turn the commander of the craft must have decided by then that the humans had been warned enough already as it turned on its axis to present its stern and the doors located there. "Impressive". Xhin commented as it started coming down to land at the steel platform in front of them.

"Indeed". Vassilev wasn't thrilled. "Who do you think it's flying it? The so called Gillmen?"

"That's the whole question isn't it? If there's really a split amongst them as X-COM believes then we will be facing either the Aquatoids or the Gillmen. If it's the first it's possible that we can reach an understanding with them, if they are indeed the antecessors of the Sectoids".

"They are liars. We already know that".

"Both of us know that we can't grasp their reasons. For such is their divine nature".

"Brother, for once I had mistaken you for a mystic". As the door opened the exchange ceased as both of them either expected a short Aquatoid or a tall Gillman, according the information available about both races. What they found waiting for them inside surprised both of them as two armored figures moved towards them.

Atlanta, Georgia

"It's me. Open up".

"And who might you be?" The computer generated voice nearly replicated the tone of one of those suspicious concierges who are usually afraid of any visitors. Delacroix sighed realizing that the software had failed to recognize his voice unlike Cyberweb's claim that it was 100 full proof.

"The person who pays the rent and the electricity that feeds your goddamn microchips. Open up!"

The female electronic voice nearly had the tone of giving him a lecture. "I still haven't positively identified you yet, lieutenant. Please look at me in the eye". Cursing the software that controlled the door Delacroix stepped to the side and placed his left eye in front of the blue plastic bubble that housed the sensors that read his iris. A flash of light come into his vision but later the door still remained closed. Already tired, he felt his irritation growing at the automatic lock and he growled. "Well, open it up you piece of junk!"

"Machines have feelings you know". The reply made him to look in disbelief at the bubble as the artificial voice stood silent afterwards. Cursing whomever had designed it Delacroix realized in despair that he must have forgotten about the date of the next inspection made by the Cyberweb technicians since it definitely had developed some sort of a bug. The software that controlled the door was supposed to welcome him home with a friendly voice although he had thought that sometimes it was unnerving since it sounded too intelligent and personal for a machine.

_The damn thing must be having a glitch_. Moving to the small keypad built into the wall below the sensor he tried to remember his personal access code that would open the door but after fidgeting with the plastic numbers for ten seconds he nearly smashed it as he realized that he couldn't remember it. Which gave him only two choices: either blow up the lock with his pistol or take the commuter train back into the city to find a motel to sleep and tomorrow call the nearest Cyberweb store and have them send a technician to deal with the door.

A small click suddenly heard on the gray corridor coming from the door made him look at the lock and utter a prayer of thanks that the software had finally stopped its bitchy mood and had allowed him entrance. Grabbing his duffel bag he pushed the door open and entered his apartment deciding to call Cyberweb the next morning for they to check the electronic lock. He hadn't heard the 'Welcome home lieutenant. How was your day?' usual phrase from the machine as he stepped inside. It had come when he had moved into the house years ago at the beginning of X-COM and the machine still thought he was a lieutenant. So much better since sometimes the question would really annoy him. But that was natural since he would spend weeks absent from home, and he considered it more to be the place where he could storage his few personal objects and serve as a safe house.

_A very unsafe house!_ The first signal that someone had broken into his apartment first brought him into full attention as his eyes scanned the corridor that led into to the small bedroom and sitting room and found something that wasn't supposed to be there. His right hand dropped his bag into the floor and reached for the Gauss pistol holstered against his left side underneath his leather jacket.

It was a dark blue medium heeled woman's shoe tumbled over the dull sand carpet. Then he momentarily relaxed as he heard a mocking voice coming from the direction of the sitting room. "Welcome home, _Paul_, or whatever you call yourself these days How was your day?" He was sighing even before she spoke to him as he had already figured who the person might be.

Lynn.

Still holding a grip on his pistol he moved down the corridor and turned into the small sitting room, the gun following his sight. The late afternoon's sky thrust its grey tone through the windows at the end of the other room. Delacroix found Lynn seated lazily on his sofa with her bare feet on the carpet and her long curly hair nearly hiding the pillow underneath. She smiled at him while holding a glass half full of an amber liquid but he ignored her. Looking back at his bedroom and finding it empty he finally turned to her and asked: "What are you doing here Lynn?"

She sat upright on the sofa and grabbed her hair with her hands until she had tucked it into a ponytail. "Now that's a warm greeting Paul. No 'Hi Lynn great to see you after all this time'?"

He placed his gun back to the holster and took out his dark jacket and placed it on a chair back. "You and I haven't met in three years for a reason. I thought you'd be clever by now to have understood it. What do you want?"

She shook her head in frustration. "Tsk tsk. Again, you're not making this easy. Why do you have to be so stubborn Paul? You know we could use you back". Placing himself behind the chair he crossed his arms in front of his chest. "I'm through with that Lynn. I belong to X-COM now and that's more than going around setting bombs that kill Cult members along with innocent bystanders".

She looked at him defiantly. "Bullshit. You know that better than me. You don't belong to them. They're just mercenaries". She spat the word in disgust and her eyes narrowed. "They have no belief in what they're doing unlike both of us".

Delacroix didn't dismiss the flash of aggression but he chose to ignore it since it could turn the whole conversation into a powder keg ready to explode. "Let's not have another of our old philosophical disagreements, shall we? Whatever the reason you're here the answer is no". His voice hardened. "Please leave or I'll make you leave, understood?"

She got up and met his gaze in a concerned tone. "Paul I'm here not only to ask but to give you some advice".

"I never stop listening to other people's advice, although in your case I might make an exception". Opening his bag he started taking off his dirty laundry and piling it on the floor. A couple of Gauss pistol magazines also found their way there and he made a note to remember separating them unless he wanted to ruin the laundry machines on the basement.

She moved over and placed her hand on his arm. "You're being blind Paul. You're being manipulated. In the past two years I've suspected more and more that X-COM has been from the beginning nothing more than a sham make to trick us all while someone tries to reach some sort of accommodation with the aliens".

With a slight move he pushed her hand aside. "You're being extremely paranoid as usual Lynn. No one at the council is trying to achieve that".

"How would you know? Did your money loving opportunist councilman Williams tell you that? Do you think he tells you all that is going on?"

"No. But I don't need to know everything that is going on and I don't want it". Moving away from him she stopped near to a small cabinet set against one of the walls where a old fashioned picture frame made of silver stood empty along with some other small personal possessions of his. Lynn pointed towards it and asked: "Wasn't there an old pic of your family? I seem to remember it looking at it once when you were sleeping. Is it still hanging around?" He remembered it quite well but he had it burned when he had joined X-COM since it was a security risk for him and them if someone ever found out about them. "You have nothing to do with it Lynn".

"No? In that case why haven't you gone back to them? Or are you seeing somebody else again to forget her?" That started to anger Delacroix and he was both mad at her indiscretion and the way she was manipulating him using their former relationship. "This conversation is crap. We've been done for years and I have nothing to do with your agenda. Leave or I might get tired of waiting for the police and toss you out instead".

Her mouth snarled in excitement at him. "You wouldn't dare both. If they ever identified you…"

Staring at her eyes he called her bluff. "Your eyes would also say a number of things about you Lynn. Wanna see who goes down faster?"

It worked since she moved away from him but she still didn't let it go. "I remember that you were pretty efficient and deadly when you were on my side Paul. And the body count has never stopped increasing since then has it?"

"I've stopped counting and X-COM is doing more against the aliens than we ever did that way. Plus if I kill people it's not for pleasure but for necessity. Not every Cult member has to die and it matters more if we stop this madness as soon as possible".

"Ha! You believe this Council is different from the other one. You're a fool Paul because Williams will use you then get rid of you as soon as possible. We all have a role to play. I'm calling you to do yours and come back to us. The moment is rising". Again she played the intimacy card but Delacroix shook his head and a memory from these days came back to him, which he thought appropriate for the whole situation.

"_The path of the righteous one is a lonely one_". Some of his former associates were clergymen who believed the fight against Sirius had to be taken into a spiritual level and gave such messages to the members. That particular one had been burned on his mind for years and its meaning was quite clear for both of them.

She gathered her coat and headed for the door but not before replying in a sad eye. "You fool yourself Paul. We both walked the same path until now. Too bad you will see it when it's too late".

"Goodbye Lynn". His short dismissal made her collect her shoes and leave without looking back. Delacroix watched her close the door and then went back to sorting out his laundry. He would have a couple of days off before his next assignment and the only thing he wanted was to be able to relax meanwhile.

October 25th, 2044

Tuffs Plain, Northwest Pacific

Block Thirty-Seven Alpha was located at Tuffs Plain, an open sea bottom area that extended from the continental platform of North America to the middle of the Pacific. Although the area was located on the high seas and therefore no one could solely claim its resources it was located on the US side of the demarcation line, the unofficial division of the Pacific between Alaskan and US waters.

For Irving Samuelson, that fact didn't please him too much since the gas field that United Oil had detected lying under the sea bed also extended to the Alaskan side and the PRA wasn't too happy to see United discover the field and to develop it without asking for permission or to set a deal to divide the highly valuable gas resources. The work was hard: every two weeks he would be transported by a mini-submarine to the underwater facility that United had installed at the sea bottom close to the gas fields. Boring holes into the seabed and placing valves into them extracted the methane gas and then it would transported by high-pressure pipes, which would be connected to the floating platform that liquefied the gas before transferring it to tankers standing on the surface. Robots did the work on the fields but all of the maintenance work for them and the supervision of the drilling and extracting operation needed human hands and eyes. That meant that every month he would have to go through decompression procedures before coming back to the surface for a week on the shore to rest and also to don his high depth diving suit everyday but the pay fit the nature of his high-risk job. Plus, nowadays such secure jobs were difficult to find and he needed the money to pay for his new house.

As he moved on the sandy bottom a pair of workers also clad on their bronze diving suits passed by him, holding to the mini submersible as it transported them to well #24, which had been brought offline for repairs. Several of the wells at the outermost edge of the field were actually located in what would be considered Alaskan territory, although no country recognized high seas claims made by others. Samuelson couldn't care less if the Alaskans had never bothered to survey this area or to develop it for their own. Occasionally a PRA Militia submarine would inspect the field and the facility from a distance but if they considered United to be trespassing they had never taken any action besides their usual warnings related to any type of exploration on the area. But Samuelson couldn't care less about their neo-communist rhetorical bullshit.

Step by step he advanced on the sea bottom, which stood nearly empty of any life which the exception of some fish that would approach his dive suit and leave afterwards. The living quarters stood some meters in front of him, a rounded yellow metal habitacle that served to support the crew and the drilling operations. Moving closer to the entrance of the water lock he pressed a large red button standing on a panel and watched by the window as the chamber inside filled with green salt water. After the chamber was filled and a green light appeared flashing on the panel he grabbed a lever and pulled it down. The massive door opened and he stepped inside, closing it afterwards and the chamber started to fill with pressurized air as he started to get out of his diving suit.

Twenty minutes afterwards he had already changed into a jumpsuit and grabbed a mug of coffee while heading for the control chamber. Another engineer was standing there and checking the array of monitors and dials that controlled the entire operation. Sitting on a chair, he called from the computer the latest reports from the surface.

Then suddenly a loud boom was heard all over the chamber. Turning to the other engineer on the room he asked: "What the hell was that? Sonar echo?"

"Undetermined. The bearing was 281. That's the direction of well #36".

"What's its status?"

"Shit. Look at this". Samuelson looked at the monitor: NO DATA AVAILABLE.

"Damn. OK, report to top that #36 is offline. We need to send the crew there when they finish the work on #24. One of the damn robots must have screwed up things again. Tell Calatrava to have a look and see what's happening after he's done with #24…". Samuelson and the other engineer stopped as the indicator for well #25 changed its status to offline, along with #26, and #27.

"What the hell is happening!" More lights switched colors in a rapid succession. Ten, no twelve wells going offline all of a sudden?" The buzzer on the speakers on top of them told them that someone on the overhead platform was also looking at the same information and asking the same question.

Grabbing a headset he dialed Calatrava´s frequency and called the diver, who was assigned to that section of the field. "What is going on there Calatrava?" The intercom from the surface had stopped also, which meant a less distraction while he was dealing with this problem.

Seconds passed and he started worrying. All of the sudden the communications had turned dead, both from the field and the platform, which usually meant trouble. Looking at the sonar screen he found nothing but it was set for passive move. "Activate the sonar".

The other engineer looked at him in puzzlement. "What? For what? There's no submarine scheduled to arrive from top today".

Pushing the other man aside Samuelson reached for the button that would energize the small sonar array mounted at the top of the facility. PING! PING! PING! The sound waves immediately started to be heard all over the chamber but Samuelson realized that the sonar array was also offline. "Wait a minute. Those are not our pings…". Then the entire ocean floor underneath the habitacle shook in a single and devastating movement.

October 27th, 2044

The Dome, Juneau, People's Republic of Alaska

The set of buildings that housed the Executive Committee had been designed after the succession on 2026 to replace the old state legislature. The main building was called "The Dome due to its large crystal inverted cup shape that took advantage of the natural sunlight that filled the Juneau area. Both visitors and government officials could also see the green slopes of Mount Roberts, which stood on the mountain range that encircled the city.

The Dome had been built right next to the blue Gastineau channel that stood between the city and West Juneau and Councilman David Roberts, the Alaskan representative to X-COM now stood next to the glass windows looking at the ferry boat traffic at the waterway. Although he was a native of Anchorage, which was Alaska's largest city with more than a million inhabitants, he could still remember the times when Anchorage was simply a state capital that belonged to the US. Back then the climate was still cold enough for the glaciers to come near to the city and while it was the major city in Alaska it didn't felt like an urban setting at all. But that had been before the population had increased tenfold after the mass migrations on the 2020's and now stood at three million people. Ironically, nowadays most of the country's inhabitants hadn't been born in Alaskan territory at all but had come from the 49 states. The large influx of humans had also brought its own share of problems to Anchorage that had before been unheard of: lack of housing, traffic jams and inflation, due to the pressing needs of its new inhabitants. Independence had brought new political visions on how to deal with those matters, especially after the melting of the glaciers had provoked massive mudslides that had destroyed parts of the city and killed hundreds of people. The Committee's attitude back then had been simple: enforce strict urban planning and environment measures and order that whoever didn't like them was welcome to pack its things and get back to the States.

It had resolved the situation in Anchorage but Roberts still preferred the quieter setting of Juneau. The capital's population had also increased from thirty thousand inhabitants at the end of the twentieth century to nearly one hundred thousand but most of it had happened after independence and the government had been able to better organize it. Unlike Anchorage, which had a thriving fishing, oil refining, aquaculture and other manufacturing industries there was nothing remarkable on Juneau except that it traditionally housed the state's government.

And on a political level the population was seen by the Committee as much more reliable than Anchorage. The Alaska's People's Party had been born originally at Juneau by the hands of Adam Okakok, a state legislator that had decided to form a new political movement as the state had been invaded by corporate enterprises that were buying all available land and pushing for the exploration of protected natural areas. Okakok was a native Alaskan of the Inupiaq tribe and had lived all of his childhood on the northern area of the state before coming down to Anchorage to study on the late twentieth century. There he had first read the works of Marx and other communist writers, together with the ideologies of the environmentalist movements and combined them with his own tribal experiences. But after he had been finally elected to the state's legislature on 2020's Okakok had pushed for the state's separation, citing the complete disrespect of the US's federal government and corporations over the Alaskan people and territory. While at first most of the other legislators ignored his proposals, most of the electorate seemed to do not and it took only a couple of years before the legislature was filled with members of the APP, which Okakok had deliberately named after the old communist regimes in further defiance of US politics.

Roberts had joined the APP after he had attended one of the rallies at Anchorage's University. Since then he had never imagined that the new Alaskan country could go as far as it had. Led by Okakok, the Alaskan Congress had declared independence from the US on 2026 and had immediately called for volunteers to defend the state from any acts of aggression. Most to the surprise of everybody the ranks of the Green Militia had been filled not only with Alaskans but also with newly arrived inhabitants which had also came because of Alaska's unspoiled territory and were finding out that unlike something was made to control the migrations and the over exploration the paradise would be lost in a number of decades.

By the time the Marines landed to capture Juneau, the Green Militia had been hastily assembled and trained into a somewhat coherent combat force, equipped by the efforts of Okakok and trained by former US officers who had chosen to join the Alaskan military. The initial invasion had been fiercely repelled by the newly formed Green Militia, in what was the only land confrontation between both countries. After the initial disaster, with hundreds of Marines captured or dead, the US had balked from any direct attempts for fear of a negative public relation and had chosen instead to impose a blockade on the Pacific and refuse to enter any peace negotiations with a "rebel state".

The conditions had improved somewhat since those days, with the blockade lessened but US and Alaskan navy forces still sailed uneasy into what had been called the demarcation line. It ran from British Columbia to the Aleutians and it was the unofficial separation line between both countries on the Pacific. Occasionally there would be some sporadic fighting but otherwise neither the US nor the PRA were too willing to press the matter further.

As Roberts kept walking towards the elevators that led into the underwater facility below the Dome, he passed by the building's central hall, where a statue of Okakok stood in the middle, with the sculptor choosing to represent him in real proportions as when he had confronted the legislative chamber with his famous: "Freedom for the Alaskan people and land" speech. One hand was clenched in a fist while the other held the original document that would be later be signed by the majority of the congressmen and now was Alaska's declaration of independence. The sculptor had undoubtedly reproduced it in a classical style, chiseling the wrinkled nose of Okakok with fine workmanship and it amused Roberts because it represented part of the heritage taken from the US that all Alaskans recognized and had adopted as their own, even if the majority of the population had strong anti-US feelings, with the Inuit minority being the most vocal.

Approaching the doors to the restricted area of the Dome, Roberts saw both Green Militia soldiers stiffening into attention as he approached them and presenting their ceremonial Gauss rifles to their sides. Their uniforms had the same utilitarian cut as his own tunic but the only different was that he bore gray instead of their bright green. "Comrade Commissar". One of them saluted him as the other moved to open the door for him. Nodding to both of them before going through the doors, Roberts was quick to move to the elevators that would bring him to the underwater quarters. Like most of the world's coastline, Juneau had suffered from major floods two decades ago and the majority of the center was now half-submerged. However, the increasing dependence upon the oceans had also meant that the populations had simply learned to live and work underwater. The original plans of the "Dome" had included extensive use of the flooded sections of the city. It would still take a number of years before the original project was concluded but so far most Alaskans felt proud about their capital.

Roberts felt it also. The entire aquatic section of the Dome reminded him of the aquaculture underwater stations that were based off shore near Kodiak, with their numerous fish farms, or the mining operations that were taking place near the Aleutians Trench to take advantage of the minerals that were regularly spewed out of the insides of Earth by the volcanoes. However, no matter how much they had achieved on the years after the independence, he always felt that there was still much to be done. Okakok's dream was still unfulfilled, along with the hopes of the majority of Alaska's population. The citizens that had were immigrants hoped that a peace settlement to be reached with the US but in nearly twenty years it hadn't been possible due to the position of the US Congress which was still obstinate in financial claims to the lands that had belonged to private enterprises and that had been nationalized by the new Alaska's People Republic. And Okakok's dream of a free, peaceful Alaska had died with him ten years ago after a suicide bomber had detonated the explosives he carried inside his body. Despite the following investigation it had been impossible to determine the real motives of the individual beyond the explosion, which had only brought more suspicions of the Alaskans regarding the US, no matter how much the Americans had refuted the allegations that it hasn't been an action on their part.

When Roberts stepped out of the elevator and into the underwater section of the Dome a number of officers looked at his brown coat in curiosity, as it stood in contrast with the green color of the Alaskan military. Although the building housed a number of governmental departments it also served as the central control military base for the Juneau area of operations that was located in the bunkers below the 'Dome'. The Politburo regularly conducted their meetings there on the security of the base and as Roberts finally entered the guarded chamber. Okakok had ruled the PRA with the help of an Executive Committee that was chosen by the Party. After his death the Party had refused to appoint a substitute to Okakok. Instead, and following the old communist tradition, a Politburo composed of the most important elements of the State had taken control of the PRA's government. Roberts was now on its way to meet with the other four members of the Alaskan Politburo. Unlike the rest of the individuals that composed the X-COM Council his position was unique for he also was the Commissar for Foreign Relations of the PRA. Beside himself, the Politburo of the People's Republic of Alaska was composed of the commissars for the Biosphere, Green Militia, Environmental Security and the Party's General Secretary. Each man and woman seated on the table had their own views about how Okakok's dream was to be fulfilled. They had agreed on most basic issues for the past ten years, usually calling upon their collective memories of Okakok's leadership for guidance but there were a lot of differences separating them.

Two of the other three members of the Politburo already present were standing together and talking between themselves while Eleanora Tyson, the AWP's General Secretary was already seated at the head of the table and seemed lost in thoughts. Tyson had been Okakok's companion and wife from the time he had been elected and until the time of his death and afterwards had been elected by the party to the position that he had assumed from the independence. Being a staunch pacifist she had objected initially to the creation of the Militia and only reluctantly recognized the need for a standing military due to the frictions between the US and the alien threat. "Comrade Roberts". After she and General Okakok, the nephew of the Revolution hero and the commander of the Green Militia, had greeted Roberts all of them sat down at the stone table.

"Where is commissar Betts?" As Roberts asked for the responsible for Environmental Security, the door opened and a small plump man entered. "I'm sorry for the delay", was his single comment as he also sat by the table, without providing any explanation. The man had probably been getting as much information as possible on the present situation, Roberts realized. Betts was in charge of the Alaskan intelligence and internal security services and had been responsible for the majority of the successes against the US. His agents inside X-COM had been the ones responsible for stealing the gauss technology schematics at the SORESO base and even the FBI still had him on its most wanted criminals list, due to his activities during the independence period.

"We shall begin then. Comrade General, would you please review the events from two days and the latest developments?" Nodding to Tyson, Okakok got up from his chair. He was the junior member but his status as nephew of the deceased AWP leader compensated for it. "As you all know comrades, the United underwater oil facility was hit two days ago, and the platform above reported an unknown contact before being also sunk. There isn't much evidence but it should be obvious to them that the aliens were the ones responsible for this unwarranted attack. However, it seems to have had the opposite effect. The attack has brought quite an uproar on the American Congress. The capitalists and warmongers are pushing for retaliatory strikes over our positions on the demarcation lines, according what their media has been saying".

Tyson brought her hand to her lips before speaking. "We need to bring some control over the situation".

Roberts concurred. "This won't help our stabilization efforts along the demarcation line. There is great pressure on both sides for the informal cease-fire currently in place to be ignored. Due to the increase of alien activity on the area that might not be advisable".

"The Americans got what they deserved. That oil field is ours". Like his uncle, the older Okakok was a staunch believer of Alaskan independence, and Roberts tended to agree with him most of the times. "But we also need to face the aliens". The missing member of the Politburo, was currently away at Kodiak to supervise the reconstruction efforts as Commissar for Biosphere Development but she also agreed with Okakok on those matters. After all, she was her wife, and politics on the higher levels of the PRA tended to favor those with family connections to the dead leader.

Okakok turned to him. "You have been spending too much time talking in that damn X-COM Council. Their own intelligence have mentioned the possibility of those Gillmen being separated from the Aquatoids? Why don't we explore that? After all, the enemy of my enemy is my friend".

Roberts replied to Okakok, knowing that the men also felt a deep animosity towards him because of his Caucasian origin. "That information is unconfirmed and most likely incorrect. But perhaps it is better to ask it to our comrade in charge of Environmental Security".

Betts nodded. "We agree with the Comissar' opinion. And while we are discussing this, our boats and other intelligence sources have detected that the US Navy is preparing to sortie a number of ships and submarines from their bases on San Diego and Puget Sound". The news brought a grim face to all of the members of the Politburo, although Roberts already knew about it and faked his reaction. Juneau was the closest location on Alaska to the US and any attack would only detected a few minutes away, almost giving them no warning. Okakok took a hard stance. "The Green Militia is fully prepared to deal with the Americans. We will teach them another lesson!"

"Nephew, calm down. Our own defensive preparations can be interpreted as if we are getting ready for an attack". Okakok looked in anger at Tyson, who turned to Roberts and ignored him. _Ahh, family matters_, Roberts sighed, before continuing with the charade.

"That will not be advisable. The Americans are still completely unaware of who was behind the attack. I suggest we immediately start talks using the X-COM council to…"

"That will not be enough, comrade commissar". Betts objected firmly. "We need better resources against both aliens and the Americans. Fortunately Environmental Security has forseen the need for it". He looked to Roberts who already knew what the man would reveal next, since it had initially been his idea although Betts had been responsible to implement it. For the next half hour the Secretary General and the PRA's commander listened to him talking, first with shock then with interest. _Those who adapt survive. _The thought occurred halfway as Roberts listened to the description of the plans he and Betts had formulated. Now it would be only be necessary to convince the other officials of his other propose. _What Okakok realized, unlike his wife or his nephew or the rest of his family is that peace is a dead man's dream and war a fool's errand. Survival is the key to everything._

_André Galvão, 2005_


End file.
